


Love and Duty

by RogueDarthSkywalker



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:53:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 41,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23547193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogueDarthSkywalker/pseuds/RogueDarthSkywalker
Summary: Modern nobility/royalty story. Sola Naberrie is now Queen. But is she fit to wear the crown of Naboo? Or is her younger sister, Padme better suited? But how will a nation bound by tradition react when a foreign commoner finds his way into Padme's inner circle? This is a story of love for ones country and the sacrifices of the heart for those who wear a crown.
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 28
Kudos: 72





	1. Prologue

Prologue

The Royal Palace was the jewel of the capital of Naboo. More than a thousand years of monarchy lined every hall of the palace. Sola Naberrie looked out of the massive window on the topmost spire in the North wing of the palace. From here, she could see the entirety of her capital. From the top of the ornate staffs held by monuments to the greatest Nubain philosophers which lined the forecourt to the palace in the North and the waterfalls that cascaded down the cliffs on the Southern face of the palace; to the marshlands that bordered the city, and the Solleu River which cut through the middle of the city. Theed was without any doubt in her mind the most beautiful city in her country. A beacon of enlightenment by tradition in an ever changing world. Sola drew closer to the window and looked down. Below, she could see the crowds still surrounding the palace and taking pictures and looking through binoculars in hopes of getting a glimpse of her. She could hear cheers and praise to her as the new Queen even from where she stood. 

A bubbly giggle slipped past her lips as she stepped back and did a twirl. Queen. All her life, she had been preparing for this moment and yet, now that it was here, she still felt as though it were all a dream. She was the Queen. True, Naboo was little more than a small country lost between the boarders of Spain and France, and most people often draw their maps with her territory a part of Spain, but her sovereignty was recognized by official international doctrine, and she is now a Queen. Sola took one last gaze at the onlookers below. Despite the celebrations going on in the city, the work of government had no time to waste on such a momentous day. She took a moment to compose herself. The girlish smile on her face was replaced by the serious and solemn face of one deserving of the crown as she held her head tall and gracefully descended from the tower.

Along the way to the throne room where she would receive the lords and nobility who serve her government, she picked up her loyal staff who served as both friend and ally in such political environments for where ministers and lords had their parties and clubs, royalty had their ladies in waiting, and peers to stand beside them. 

“There you are!” As she reached the intersection of the halls that separated the private residences from the public areas, her younger sister, Padme quickly came to her side. She was dressed in an elegant dress of purple and blue, her hair tied tightly and caged in a gold headpiece. Over her shoulder she wore the same green sash and the eight pointed star encrusted pin that she wore; regalia to signify their place in The Order of the Lotus. Sola smiled as her sister looped her arm in hers as they walked slowly towards the throne room where the ministers and nobles of her country were waiting. “You shouldn’t have kept them waiting,” Padme whispered, sending a warning glance at her. “Panaka was already groaning about how you’re ill suited for the crown. He still remembers that time you snuck out of the palace to go to that club.”

Sola giggled, ignoring how Padme tried to hush her, “Relax, dear sister,” She said. “That was years ago. Like he never did anything rebellious before.”

“Panaka wasn’t the daughter of a king,” Padme reminded her, “You forget too easily that we’re held to a higher standard.”

“And you think about it much too often, Padme.” Stepping forward as they reached the doors, she adjusted herself once more as the Royal Jeweler brought her the lighter ceremonial crown that was used for activities that were more active but still required a strong symbol of power. It was still heavy on her head and she felt as if she would topple over if she leaned too far forward, but it was necessary for this occasion whose tradition goes back more than six-hundred years. 

Satisfied that she was stable enough to meet with her court, the herald opened the doors before banging his staff to announce her and her entourage. She entered first, followed by her sister, and then her handmaidens. The crescent crowd of people that formed for her arrival all bowed to her before parting for her so that she may approach her throne and sit. The throne was made of gold flake covered wood that stretched upward into a regal point and cushioned by red fabric pillowed cushions. The red had faded some after years of seating royals through countless engagements, but it still shone brightly and the fading only represented the strength and security of the monarchy. Sola climbed the three steps to the throne, and turned to face her subjects. To her right, one step below her was a smaller but still regal chair for her sister, and to the left on the tiled floor sat a line of seats for her handmaidens.

Sola took a moment to observe the men and women who stood before her. Many were of noble birth but some, like Panaka, had been elected directly by her people. She knew most of the people in the room already, having spent the better part of her years sitting in her father’s study with him, learning about all the important people in Naboo who would serve her. If she was being honest with herself, she wished that she had paid more attention to her father’s lessons as she couldn’t remember all of their names and the various titles most of them carried. In the midst of the crowd, she could also make out some foreign dignitaries who were in attendance. It was hard to miss Prince Harry’s ginger hair or the height of the ambassador from Coruscant. Beside her, she heard Padme clear her throat, and it was then that she realized she was still standing. Masking her embarassment from her lapse, she sat with as much grace as she could muster. Her sister and the rest of her party sat down with her, as the group of guests shuffled a little closer.

The handmaiden closest to her, Duja, approached her with her head bowed and passed her the leather folder with her speech held in place firmly. She cast a small smile at her before Sola opened it and ran her fingers over the embossed heraldic seal of the monarchy in the header of the speech. She cleared her throat as she glanced over the top of her folder for a moment, regretting it as she felt her nerves bubble to the surface. “My Lords, ministers, and representatives from my foreign allies,” She started, “Now that our matters of state are in order, and the coronation concluded; I ask once more for my government to formally recognize powers held by I, your sovereign.”

Her eyes glanced up from over the top of her folder, trying not to lock eyes with anyone. She had practiced this speech for hours, just as she had for the coronation. Where the coronation was more a show for the people, this meeting was for her government and the world powers. Naboo’s history had always been one where people would overlook them and ignore them. The tradition of the Recognition Ceremony was just that- asking to be recognized. There had been a time where ‘asking’ had included the household guard armed with halberds and the consequence for not recognizing the sovereign had meant a less than pleasant death… but that part of the tradition had been dropped a long time ago. Now, instead of halberds there was alcohol.

“My Lord Prime Minister,” Sola said, directing Sio Bibble who bowed his head to her, “How says my Parliament?”

“On the matter of the Sovereign’s power as stated in the Sovereignty Bill of 1093, unanimously, your Parliament says aye, Majesty.” Bibble bowed at the waist as a light round of clapping filled the room.

“Let it then be known across my realm and across the world that I, Sola of the house of Naberrie by the grace of God, shall sit and rule the country of Naboo. Let it be known that I dedicate my life to the protection and prosperity of my land and people.”

A louder crescendo of applause filled the room as the speech ended. Sola felt like her chest would burst, but she masked it as best she could as she closed the folder and passed it to her left. Now all that was left to do was enjoy the festivities. There were no more ancient ceremonies she had to preside over for a while and for a moment she felt all the weight and pressure of the crown lift from her head. But the feeling was short lived.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Western gardens were loveliest in the Spring. Delicate flowers of pinks and white arranged in the massive stone pots that topped the rails of the balcony overlooking the waterfalls and the rich lakes below made it feel as though it were a portal into a world straight out of a fairytale. The fond memories of playing in the grasses and getting lost in the hedges and running down the stone paths with her sister and their friends were memories Padme cherished. Even as they grew older and their diverging paths became clear, Padme still took solace in the gardens, finding peace and joy in the colors and the fresh air even in the middle of the hectic post-mortem ceremonies that must be seen to before her sister can rightfully be called the Queen. With all the final preparations underway, Padme found the gardens uncommonly empty as she strolled down the pathway towards the waterfall. A lone stick from the branch of a large tree lay in the middle of the path, missed by the groundsman who tended to the gardens appearance. She picked up the stick and trailed it behind her, smiling as it tapped against the ground with her every step. It was silly and childish but this was the first time in days where she had a moment completely to herself without anyone breathing down her neck.

As she reached the balcony she turned to walk along side the rails, letting the stick point out to the side and tap against each stone rail post as she walked. There were times when they had been growing up where Padme had wished she were the one to be Queen. Sola never showed much interest in their lessons on politics and cultural traditions of their people. Everything she did from the charity events she sponsored to her public appearances had been events that had been arranged for her by either their parents or an aide. Sola’s interests had always been of a more… varied taste. Because they were sisters, Padme had always been privy to her sister’s more salacious acts. There had been a few instances where she had helped her sister sneak out of the palace to go to clubs, times where she had gone to spend the night at a boy’s house and she had found ways to trick their parents into thinking she was sick, there had even been a few instances where Padme had altered their itineraries so that Padme would go to an event instead of Sola. In truth, there was little she wouldn’t do for her sister. But when it came to the crown… Padme wasn’t so sure she could let her sister rule the monarchy in the same insouciant way she has lived her life up until now.

Sola had always accused her of being too serious. And maybe she was. But for good reason. Padme had known since she was five that Sola would be Queen and that she was a Princess. She understood that the titles and the crowns came at a price and that they had to do more than just be born with the right name to be worthy of it. Sola did not come to the same conclusion until many years later as their father’s health started to wane. And through the years while Padme had put in the effort to do right by the people, her sister had been trying to live as if she were an ordinary woman. And now a crown sat on her head, a crown that to her shame, Padme felt a tinge of envy for. 

Her grip on the stick tightened as she brought in in front of her and snapped it in two before hurling the pieces over the railing, watching as they were swallowed by the mist of the waterfall. She wished she had something heavier to throw or that she could scream her frustration until she was hoarse but she was much too well mannered to act on that wish. All she could do was run her hand over her forehead and hair to try to find some calm. Padme closed her eyes as she walked a little ways farther down the path until the stone turned dark from the mist spraying up from the waterfall. She paced under the spray, letting the thick mist blind her to the world around her as the water soaked into her dress. The cool water was refreshing and helped ease her stressed mind.

“You alright, Miss?”

Her serenity was interrupted and whirling around she caught a glimpse of a tall shadow through the mist. By his frame he looked to be a man, tall and broad shouldered. He stood well out of the spray and as she drew closer, his features became clear. The first thing that struck her were his eyes. They bore into hers as if trying to read her mind and were a deep cobalt blue that were as deep and dark as the ocean yet full of wonder too. His blonde hair was closely cropped and he wore a black suit whose sleeves and pant legs looked a little too short for his long limbs. His mouth was agape as he stared at her and the prominent bob of his Adams apple was the first sign of movement she saw from the man. “Yes, I’m fine,” She said a little too quickly for it to be believable. “I just… needed to clear my head,” She said to clarify. He said nothing in response, simply staring at her in awe as if he were a statue. She waited, aware that her presence sometimes took people by surprise and would need a moment to compose himself but as the moment dragged on, his staring was lasting much too long for it to be normal. “Are _you_ alright?” She asked, her eyebrow raising at him with concern, watching as he shook out of his daze.

“Sorry,” He said, averting his gaze and scratching the back of his neck, “I just… I didn’t— I never…” He laughed and shook his head, “I mean—I… you… you’re beautiful,” He said, his cheeks reddening as he coughed and muttered something under his breath.

Padme laughed and shook her head. She felt the water droplets drip down her brow as she walked away from the mist and out onto the dry part of the path.

“Shit, I should have skipped the champagne.”

Her eyes widened at his vulgar word usage. No one has ever sworn in front of her like that before. Most people are too afraid to. “Excuse me?”

“Sorry,” He said again, “It’s just… the mist… I swear it make you look like an angel.”

“An angel?” She asked, “That’s the first time I’ve heard that particular complement.”

He scoffed, “Surely someone had to have pulled that ‘did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’ Pickup line?”

Her brow raised in surprise as she shook her head, “Never.” Who would ever dare to try such a thing on her? Where was this man from that such cheap flirting with royalty was permitted?

His eyes looked her up and down in a way that no one had ever done before and was so obvious that he either had to be dumb or crazy as no one in their right mind would look at her the way he was. “You must be one of those noble ladies then,” He said, his mouth closing firmly the moment the words left his mouth before bending at the waist in an exaggerated bow, his arm flailing in a movement that lacked grace and refinement.

Padme stared at him with eyes that were in complete shock. Surely he had to know who she was… she may not be wearing some of the more ornamental adornments of her outfit; no stash or cornet to distinguish her status; but he _had_ to know. If he was here in the palace, he had to be aware of who she was. But clearly he wasn’t.

“I-I’m sorry, Miss—Madame? Lady? Er—“

“—Padme” She interrupted. “My name is Padme. And I’m not one of _those_ nobles.” She was really the princess, but, her answer wasn’t exactly lying.

He lifted his head and stood straight once more, straightening his suit. “Oh.” He said, laughing awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck and his shoulders visibly relaxed.

She laughed with him, a genuine laugh accompanied by an unfamiliar feeling akin to joy. “And who exactly might you be?”

He perked at her question, his lips quirking into a smile, “Anakin. I work for the ambassadors from Coruscant.”

Padme nodded, “The Great Negotiators, they call them.” She said. “So I take it, you’re their secretary then?”

Anakin shrugged as he stuffed his hands in his pocket, “Assistant… or apprentice… I’m not quite sure.”

She laughed again as she walked back along the path, Anakin falling into step beside her. He walked closer to her than any one else outside of her immediate family and close friends. He was still at a respectable distance, but still closer than most would find appropriate. “How can you not know what you are?”

He gave a shrug, “With Ambassador Jinn retiring next month, I’m not quite sure what I am to Ambassador Kenobi. He is a complicated guy to understand.” He said. “I wasn’t really useful to him when I first came on. But, now that Jinn is retiring, and he asked Kenobi to keep me on for a while longer, I found myself being of more use around the office. At first it was more like putting his coat away in the morning or getting coffee, holding stuff for him— things like that— but, it’s started to change. He now trusts me to put papers in the proper folders and cabinets, take messages for him, and stand beside him while he does his negotiating. He hasn’t exactly said what my position is called.” Anakin gave another shrug as he kicked a pebble a ways down the path, “But, that’s good ol’ Obi-Wan for you… he’s always been reluctant to put a name on things.”

Her brow creased as she looked at him, “Obi-Wan? I thought the ambassadors from Coruscant were Qui-Gon Jinn and Benjamin Kenobi?”

He laughed again, “They are. Some of the staff back home call Ben Obi-Wan though.”

“Why?”

He let out a snort as he leaned in closer to her and whispered, “Because he’s the… _Obi-Wan_ who can do things right.”

Padme brought her hand to her mouth as she laughed at the joke. She may not know the ambassador very well, but it was well known that the man was a bit of a perfectionist.

“You know what I’m talking about?” He asked.

“Yes,” She said, pausing on the path to compose herself. “I figured that out the first time I met him…” She said, shaking her head at the memory, “I don’t remember exactly what was being discussed, but I remember every time they turned the page in the little booklet, he was just so careful not to crease it, and that all the pages were lined up perfectly. In contrast, everyone else around him were taking notes directly on the paper, or folding the corners of the pages they wanted to go back to. I think out of every one there, his booklet was the only one that looked untouched.”

Anakin smiled and shook his head, “He really is something.” 

They walked farther down the path and she felt more at ease with him than she thought possible. For the first time, she felt as though she was… normal. She didn’t have a title or a crown. All she had was a first name. Nothing was stopping this man beside her from speaking freely and the feeling that came with such a liberating conversation was… indescribable.

“Will you be at the Recognition Ceremony?” He asked.

Her pace sped up slightly as she averted her gaze from him, “Yes…” She answered.

“Maybe we can go there together?” He asked. “My rooms are on the same floor as the other guests. Maybe we can meet by the main stairs before it starts?”

She could hear the hope in his voice as he asked. He wanted to talk with her again. But that just wouldn’t be possible. The next time he would see her, she wouldn’t be just Padme. She’d be a Princess of Naboo. The way he had been speaking with her, the way he carried himself… it just wouldn’t be appropriate. “No,” She said, her answer hurting her as well as him as she said it, “I’m sorry, I… there are things I must do for my country while I am here. Just as you have things you must do for yours.” She turned back to him and she hated seeing the disappointed look in his eyes as the blue pierced into her brown eyes. She forced a smile to her lips and bowed her head respectfully towards him, “I must get ready for the ceremony,” She said. “It was… very nice to meet you, Anakin.”


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She knew he was watching her. She could feel his eyes on her across the room even while she spoke with the French Prime Minister. Throughout the ceremony she had avoided his gaze because she knew what she would see. disappointment, fear, maybe even anger; after all, she had deceived him, made him think she was nobody when in fact she was probably the second most important person in attendance. From the corner of her eye, she could see him standing with the ambassadors from Coruscant. They were currently speaking with delegates from Portugal. Her head turned a little more than she had intended, allowing her a more direct line of sight at the conversation and unfortunately caught Anakin’s gaze. The man wasted little time in pulling away from the Portuguese guest, intent on making his way over to her, but she moved away before he could reach her. Padme tried to appear calm as she walked over to where her sister sat on the throne, accepting the well wishes from the guests who approached her.

Sola smiled at her when she came within sight and waved her up to her side. Despite being sisters, protocol dictated that she still had to bow and while she wasn’t required to bow as low as most, she still felt odd bowing to her older sister. Sola clasped her hand tightly as she waved off one of the respected Nubian artists who had come to give his congratulations. The two sisters watched the man go, and the Queen tilted her head to the side, “He’s rather handsome, don’t you think?” She said, looking at her sister for confirmation. “Bit of an ego, but he does have a nice butt”

“Sola,” Padme scolded. If any of the guests heard her…

“Relax,” She countered, “I’m just having a little fun.”

Padme sighed and shook her head. “I don’t think this is the kind of party where you have that kind of fun.”

Her sister rolled her eyes and plastered on a smile as another guest came to speak with her. Padme remained by her sister’s side, accepting their greeting as well.

“You know, I might not be allowed to have fun at this party,” Sola started, “But there’s nothing stopping you,” She said with a smile, directing her gaze towards the Duke of Scipio. “You know he’s had a crush on you since you went on that humanitarian trip to India.”

Padme rolled her eyes. Rush Clovis was an opportunist. If he saw some way to advance his position, he would. His public reputation wasn’t the best, though he did command the respect of some of the more slippery politicians. Still, none of that was enough to make Padme consider a relationship with him.

“If you actually gave him a chance, you might actually like him.”

She shook her head, “They say he helped the Count of Serenno in his acquisition of military weapons.”

Sola nodded, “Yes… but that was years ago. It isn’t like it started a war.”

“Yet,” She muttered, giving her sister a hard look. “It’s obvious he did it to get something. Why else would he risk a response from the UN?”

“Ugh, will you stop thinking about politics for once?” She groaned, “You’re right that politically he is a bit risky… but as a man…” She shrugged as she watched the Duke smile at the conversation he was in. “He certainly has some assets that could be of use.”

Padme shook her head, ignoring the light laugh that fled her sister’s lips before they both had to compose themselves as the delegation from Coruscant approached. Qui-Gon Jinn was a tall man with a thick beard and greying long hair which he tied back behind his head. At his side stood Benjamin Kenobi whose auburn hair and beard were neatly trimmed. Behind both men, walked Anakin who had his hands folded stiffly in front of him as his stiff shoulders looked as if he were trying to make himself smaller. 

“Your Majesty,” Qui-Gon said, accepting her sister’s outstretched hand and kissing the ring on her hand as the others in his party bowed. “I am pleased that I was able to attend this momentous event. It is regrettable that I am to retire. I very much would have loved working with you.”

“I would have liked that as well,” Sola said, “Father always spoke highly of you. Always said you were someone whose advice he valued.”

Qui-Gon smiled, “Well, if it is any consolation,” He held his hand back and gestured at Benjamin, who took one step forward and bowed his head, “Benjamin has been working with me for many years. I have little doubt that his council will be just as valuable as mine.”

“Your Majesty, it is my greatest honor to serve the interests of both our countries.” Benjamin said.

Sola smiled at the men and gave a polite nod to dismiss them before turning her attention back to Padme. Her eyes glanced between her sister and the small party that just left and she leaned forward in her throne slightly and turned her head to look back at the men before her lips curled into a suspicious grin. “What’re you looking at?” She laughed, giving Padme a playful poke, “Or should I say who?”

Padme cleared her throat and turned away from her sister lest she notice any change in her complexion. “Nothing,” She mumbled.

“Benjamin is quite attractive, though I never pegged you for someone to like older men.”

She rounded on her sister and gave an irritated huff as Sola laughed, feeling as carefree as ever. “Relax, dear sister,” She said. “I know who you were really looking at.” She shifted closer to her and leaned onto the arm of the throne, “He’s no Duke of Scipio… but he is quite cute.”

Padme let out a groan as she rolled her eyes, “Would you stop? I’m not looking for anything.”

“Just because you aren’t looking for anything permanent, doesn’t mean you can’t look for something short term. It could even just be for a night.” Padme shook her head but put on a small smile as a group of guests from Belgium came to greet her sister. “You really should try to spend more time exploring these things,” Sola advised as the group left. “Reason I did it early was because I knew this was my civic duty. You, Padme, you have your whole life to live and make mistakes without the consequences of international disgrace. Live it.”

Padme didn’t want to argue anymore about it. With her sister being as persistent as she is, she decided it was best to take her leave before either say something regrettable. She made her way back through the crowds, outwardly playing her part. Deep down in her own way, Sola meant well. Her advice may not be what she agrees with, but it is all said with her best interest at heart. The reality is, such advice is ill-advised when seen from a wider lens. Regardless of whether or not it is a one time thing, or if it is something more serious, the fact remains that her actions have consequences. Even something as small as canceling a public meeting could be seen as a slight even when done for the best of reasons. It was why some of Sola’s previous engagements had been so scandalous and Padme had no intention of making any of those headlines.

Behind her, she heard the deep grumble of someone clearing their throat, and turning around she came face to face with Anakin. He smiled shyly at her and gave her a stiff bow, “Your… Highness,” He said, shaking his head almost in disbelief before reaching up to scratch the back of his neck nervously, “Um… about earlier? I-I’d just like to say, I’m sorry. I— if I had known—“

She placed her hand on his arm and smiled kindly at him, trying to ease his nerves, “There’s nothing to apologize for,” She said. “On the contrary, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I deceived you. And for that, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me,” He said laughing, “If I’d known who you were, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

“Why’s that?”

Anakin’s shoulders slumped as he stuffed his hands in his pants pockets, “Well… Ben told me that my being here today is a privilege that is above my station and that I had to be careful what I say and who I say it to.”

She folded hands in front of her and smiled again at him, “Well, if you’re worried you said something wrong, you didn’t.” 

Padme took a step back and turned away from him. She’d barely taken two steps when he said, “Would it be wrong if I asked for a dance?” His question gave her pause, and turning back to him she saw that his face was a bit red. “I mean… you don’t have to I just—“

“—I’d like that,” Padme said. It was the least she could do for him, wasn’t it? Give him something to tell his friends back home. His face lit up as she held her hand out to him and he took it, holding it as if she were made of porcelain as he led her to the dance floor. As she turned to face him and place her hand on his shoulder, she could feel his hand tremble as he placed it high on her waist. His dancing was slightly off beat, and he was stiff as a board as he led her, but his face was creased with determination as he tried to lead her. It was quite admirable, and to aid him she gave him little nudges to try and put him on beat and took smaller steps so as to ensure he didn’t accidentally step on her toes.

His shoulders tensed as he looked over her shoulder before he looked back down at her and they spun around. She could see in the crowd of guests Benjamin watching them with a nervous and slightly irritated grimace on his face. She could tell that him dancing with her was something that Anakin clearly wasn’t supposed to do, and that it almost certainly had to do with her social standing. Padme smiled at her dance partner and gently encouraged him to guide them toward the other end of the dance floor where Benjamin’s sight of them would be obscured. “Is this going to get you in trouble?” She asked.

“Most likely,” He said, “He’s a stickler for rules and protocol and I’ll probably get a long-winded lecture about how stepping on your toes could ruin international relations.”

“Well, you never know,” Padme said slowly, “Past kings have killed for less.”

“I thought the Naboo were peaceful. Probably the only European monarchy that didn’t have a violent revolution.”

“That doesn’t mean we are incapable. There have been plenty of horrible monarchs on the throne before. The only difference is that my people often worked to resolve conflict without blood-shed. Though if there were no other recourse, we have shown that we will take up arms.”

“I guess that makes sense,” He said, his head tilting back slightly and smiling up at the painted ceiling. “I suppose if Naboo had been more involved in international conflict, then this place wouldn’t nearly be as beautiful.”

Padme smiled and glanced up at the ceiling with him, barely noticing that they had stopped moving and simply taking in the beauty of the elaborate plater carvings and 15 th -century painting depicting the Roman gods, albeit with an obvious Christian interpretation. Her eyes were drawn to the way he was looking at the ceiling. The awe on his face was so clear and unmasked, so different from everyone else in the room and the way the light practically shimmered around him, she swore she never saw a man so beautiful as him. When his eyes left the ceiling to meet hers, a huge smile on his face, she felt her cheeks heat up and had to force herself to look away from him.

As if to save her from any sort of recovery, the song they had long since stopped dancing to ended and Padme carefully stepped back and gave him a grateful smile, “It was wonderful dancing with you, Anakin,” She said, excusing herself before she could say anything foolish. _stupid, stupid!_ She berated herself. She wasn’t some heart-eyed middle school girl. She was a twenty-five year-old woman— a princess! Sola might have no qualms with jumping just because it looks like fun, but Padme was more logical than that. She barely even knows Anakin. If her father was still here, she knew he would warn her of the possibility that he may have an ulterior motive to his kind attentions. And while she doubted Anakin was anything less than sincere, there was always the possibility. 

“He’s no Duke of Scipio,” Her mother said, startling Padme as the older woman came to stand beside her daughter. Her eyes watched the young man as he seemed to be receiving a lecture from Ben Kenobi. Her mother shrugged, “But he does have a certain charm about him.”

Padme shook her head, and turned to face her mother. The glint in her mother’s eye and knowing smile on her lips teased at the hint that she has some ridiculous idea in her mind. “He’s just a boy,” She said, “We had an interesting conversation once and we danced. That’s all.”

Her mother quirked her brow at her, “You know you don’t have to marry a man with a fancy title as your sister will,” She said. “Sola will eventually marry a Duke or a Lord within Naboo, but you…” She cupped Padme’s cheeks lightly and gave her a hopeful smile, “There is nothing stopping you from marrying or even just dating whomever you want.” Her head tilted in the direction Anakin was standing, “Even that handsome secretary over there.”

Padme returned her mother’s smile before pulling her face from her mother’s grasp. Her arms folded over her chest as she glanced at her sister sitting regally on the throne, engaged in a social conversation with one of the guests. Was it wrong of her to think that she would fail? That she worried that her sister would drown under the pressure of ruling? Perhaps. Love her sister as she does, she knows Sola well enough to know that when she faltered, Padme needed to be ready to help her in whatever way that may be. And if that meant wearing the crown after her, then she would. But to be ready, she couldn’t allow something as silly as a boy distract her. Just as Sola had her duty, she too had a role to play.

“I’m worried, Mama,” She said, giving air to her concerns. “Do you think she can do it?”

Her mother reached out and took her younger daughter’s hands and looked at her eldest, “It will be hard,” She admitted. “But in the end, I believe she will do what is best for Naboo.” She gave her hand a squeeze and kissed her cheek, gracefully gliding across the floor as she went back to her rounds of the guests.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Night fell on the city as the ball drew to a close. With the last of the guests finally departing for the wing where all the guests were staying, Padme was finally able to relax a little with a nice hot bath and a cup of tea. Her ladies in waiting carefully brushed her hair as it dried and she relaxed into the soft chair of her vanity, enjoying the smoothness of her silk robe. In front of her sat one of the final drafts of a speech she was going to give in a few days at one of the charity events she was invited to. With the days events finally over, and the rush coronation planning at an end, it was time for things to go back to normal. For Padme, this meant making her presence known, attending events, representing her family’s commitment to the wellbeing of the people, and keeping good relations with the government. She read through the speech once more as her hair was being brushed, taking a pen to make some small notes for possible revisions to try in the morning. She was just making a note on a few other names to mention in the speech when Sola burst through her bedroom doors and heaved a dramatic sigh as she threw herself down on Padme’s bed.  
“I am beat!” She whined, sprawling herself in an ungraceful heap as she closed her eyes.  
“Then why don’t you go to bed?” Padme asked, quirking her brow at her sister.  
Sola groaned, “I really don’t want to.”  
“You’re meeting with the Prime Minister in the morning,”Padme said. “You’re to go over your stances on the major issues currently on the docket in Parliament as well as the long term goals of your reign.”  
“I know.”  
She sighed as she turned to face her older sister, the ladies in waiting, taking the moment of silence to dismiss themselves. Padme waited until they were gone before speaking again. “Have you put any thought into your stances yet?” She asked.  
Sola gave a small shrug, “A little… I know I want my people to be happy—“  
“As do we all—“  
“Free education would be nice—“  
“— Or at least more government funding to cut costs.”  
Sola nodded, “Our healthcare is pretty good, so I’m fine with that…”  
“And what about international policy? Your recommendations on ministers? And picking a charity to receive the Just Service Grant?”  
Sola’s eyes rolled as she groaned and let her head flop back onto the pillow.  
Padme sighed and stood from her seat making her way to the bed and climbing on to join her sister. The two of them laid facing one another, heads propped up by pillows. “Sio Bibble can probably advise you on some of these things,” Padme said, “But you know he has his own stakes in this. His party is counting on him—“  
“—I know,” Sola said, “Dad taught us both how to do this. And while I might be a bit of a slow learner, I do know what I have to do. It’s a lot to get used to, and I’ll be the first to admit that I still have a lot to learn… but I’ll figure it out. I promise.” She smiled and rolled to sit up, crossing her legs under her. “But, enough of that!” She declared. “If I have to spend all day tomorrow in a stuffy room filled with stuffy old men, you’re going to tell me all about that boy you were dancing with.”  
Padme laughed and shifted so that she was leaning back against the headboard, folding one leg under her and wrapping her arm around her bent knee. “What’s there to tell? He’s just a boy.”  
Her sister smirked, “Sure he is,” She said. “Just a boy who seems to like you a lot.”  
Her eyes rolled as she scoffed, “You’re reading way too much into this.”  
Sola sighed and shook her head as she flopped back down onto the bed. Her eyes focused on the grand ceiling of the bedroom and let the silence and calm of the room fill her. Padme laid beside her, joining her in her examination of the ceiling. “Can you promise me something?” Sola asked, never looking away from the ceiling.  
“Of course,” Padme replied.  
“Promise me you won’t let our work consume us. Promise me that when you do get married, that it’s for love.”  
Padme sat up and turned to face her sister, “Sola…”  
Their eyes met and for once, her sister looked her thirty years. Gone was the bubbly impulsive girl she knew her sister to be, here was the Sola who fully knew the reality of their obligations. She smiled up at her, “I know I have a duty to this country. I know that when I marry, it’ll be to someone of status and picked from a selection of men. But you… you have the freedom to marry whoever you want. I want you to marry for love, because that person makes you happy.”  
Padme took her sister’s hand and gripped it tightly, “You’ll marry for love too,” She said. She knew that while the list of candidates to marry Sola would be a pre-approved selection of men of some renown in Naboo, Padme knew that there had to be someone who Sola could truly find love and happiness with.  
She shook her head, “It won’t be the same. There’s no freedom in it. I might have the final say but… they won’t be men that I picked.” Sitting up, she took Padme’s hands in hers and squeezed tightly, “I want you to have what I can’t. So can you promise me this?”  
Padme returned her sisters tight hold on her hands, “I promise.”

* * *

Breakfast the following morning was not nearly as grandiose an affair as the previous night’s events. Dressed in fine but not formal attire, the small private dining room was occupied only by a select few guests from last night. At the head of the table, Sola exchanged small talk with the Prime Minister who sat the the right of the Queen. At Sola’s left was Ben Kenobi who listened intently to the Queen and the Prime Minister’s casual discussion on small international regulations. Padme sat at the opposite end of the table, her seat directly to the right of her mother who sat at the opposite head of the table. Across from her was the young Duke, Rush Clovis who would flash her a charming smile every once in awhile as he spoke with her mother. As she listened to the Duke talk about his desire for the nobility to play a more active role in government, Padme fought to keep from rolling her eyes at his obvious attempt to try and sway her mother with smooth words. One look at the older woman, and Padme knew that she was thinking the exact same thing.  
A few seats down from Clovis, she noticed Anakin would look at her every once in awhile. He was sitting closer to the middle of the table and it seemed like he was trying to keep up with Ben’s conversation as well as try and watch her as well. Their eyes met briefly and he smiled at her with unabashed awe and admiration. Such looks were nothing new to Padme who was used to being close to the center of attention, but the way Anakin did it, felt so real that she found it hard to look away. She couldn’t have kept her gaze locked to his for longer than a minute or two, but she completely lost track of the conversations around her as she practically felt like she was drowning in his eyes. It was only when Ben grunted loudly and drew Anakin’s sharp attention away that Padme fell back into reality. She watched the silent exchange between Ben and Anakin and the older man shot him a warning look before turning back to Sola. Anakin’s cheeks flushed a light red as his shoulders slouched, slightly deflated from the exchange.  
The breakfast ended after about an hour or so of discussion. Sola had other obligations and meetings to attend now that her rule was recognized. That left the schmoozing and entertaining of the guests to Padme and her mother. It wasn’t a difficult task. The palace itself was filled with no end of things to do. Many guests entertained themselves with a stroll through the famous gardens filled with flowers and plants native to Naboo. Some took an interest in the Royal Library which held numerous first editions of rare books and some of the paper artifacts from previous rulers of Naboo. Yet still there were also those few guests who felt the need to practically glue themselves to their hosts.  
The young Naboo artist, Palo Jemabie was unfortunately one such guest. Padme tried not to mind so much as the young man was well respected among nobles and commoners alike. His still life depictions of the small Naboo towns were so beautiful and awe inspiring that some argued that the paintings alone put them back on the map and created a surge of interest in their culture. Padme didn’t share that belief, but she at least acknowledged the man’s obvious dedication to depicting his culture and his people as accurately as possible.  
She smiled as the two of them walked along the stone walkway near the waterfalls. Palo spoke about how he wished he had his paints so that he could paint the skyline of the capital right now, or how he wished he were talented enough to capture her beauty on a canvas… all of it overly romantic and too ridiculous to believe, but she knew better than to call him out on this. Instead, she listened to him drone on and one and kept a polite smile even as he tried to inch closer to her. For each attempt he made towards her, she took a silent side-step away from him. Where most would have understood the silent request for space, the artist was either too dim or too determined to pay it any mind. Padme tried to be polite about it, but when he placed his hand on the small of her back as he spoke about his art, she’d had enough of him.  
Taking his wrist in a tight grip, she pushed his hand off her back as she stepped farther back and narrowed her eyes in warning at him. “Mister Jemabie, while this conversation has been… enlightening, I do have other guests that I would like to speak with,” She said, not bothering to hide her distaste for him as she encouraged him to speak with one of the staff about getting paints and canvas. She hoped he would, as it would hopefully mean she would have to spend less time with him. Bidding him a good day, she quickly left his company and walked quickly along the cobblestone path in the garden, heaving a sigh as she rubbed at her temple.  
“What a prick.”  
Padme jumped at the unexpected voice, and turned to see Anakin leaning back on a stone bench, his legs stretched out and his arms folded behind his head, looking completely at ease. She blinked at him for a moment before looking back at Palo who seemed to have taken an interest in a blonde woman he was now walking with. Padme scoffed, “Yeah,” She agreed, looking back at Anakin and gestured towards the empty space next to him, “Do you mind if I—“  
“—Not at all,” He cut in, shifting over to give her more space.   
She smiled and joined him on the bench, sighing contently as she tilted her head back to soak in the warmth of the sun.  
“Was he that exhausting?” He laughed.  
Padme laughed and shook her head, “I’ve… seen worse,” She admitted, breathing in deeply. The air smelled of the fresh lavender flowers mixed with the cool scent of two varieties of Naboo tulips, all of which were planted in a nearby plot. “I just like to come out here sometimes and relax,” She said.  
“I can see why,” He replied. “You know… Naboo was the first place I’d been where I saw so many flowers in one place.”  
“Really?”  
He nodded and leaned forward on his knees, “My mother was a translator in Tunisia when I was a kid,” He said. “She worked on a long series of documentaries there from around the time I was three until I was ten.” He gave a shrug and cocked his head to the side, “Her job was cool, but I didn’t really like living there. The cities were too crowded, the rural areas were too sandy, it was very hot in the Summer…” He shook his head and leaned back. “We had a layover in Theed when we were moving to Coruscant after her contract ended. I’d never seen so much green in my life,” He said, a hint of a smile gracing his face as he spoke.  
“I suppose it’s a good thing you ended up working for an ambassador then.”  
Anakin laughed and gave a small shrug with one shoulder, “This wasn’t my first choice for a career, but… it does have its perks.”   
His eyes slowly found hers, looking at her almost shyly, as if he wanted to say more but thought better than to voice his thoughts. Padme looked at him, and she swore she could hear what he wanted to say as if he had said them himself. “I’m glad to have met you.” She felt herself relax a bit more as they gazed at one another. She took one small glance over her shoulder to take a quick inventory of the people wandering the gardens. None seemed to be paying her any mind. Most were chatting amongst themselves or admiring the gardens. A few of the benches were occupied by the lone reader lost in a book. It was one of the rare moments Padme truly felt like she was alone. No one needed her attention, she didn’t have anyone who she needed to speak with, and while she knew that there was the odd security person lurking around somewhere, they were nowhere within her eyesight at the moment. This feeling— which she could only describe as a sense of newfound freedom— seemed to urge her to do something so utterly new and… daring that she felt a surge of adrenaline as she looked back at Anakin.  
She couldn’t deny that he was quite handsome. He seemed kind, and her status didn’t seem to remotely phase him where others tended to fall into either a stickler for protocol or sycophants. Padme smiled at him, “Would you like to take a walk with me?”  
The corner of his lip cocked up in a roguish smirk, “Of course.”


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She walked with him slowly along the path up until they met the entrance to the hedge maze when she took his hand and pulled him along behind her as she navigated them through the twists and turns. He laughed despite not knowing where they were going, trusting her to know her way through it. Padme smiled and laughed with him, glancing back every now and again as if to remind herself that he was real. “Where are you taking me?” He laughed as she led him to a dead end.

Padme smiled and looked around, making sure no one could see them. “Trust me,” She said as she released her hold of his hand and walked up to the large hedge wall.

“It’s a dead end,” He remarked, looking around himself, clearly unsure where in the maze they were.

She ignored him as she pressed her hand along the hedge, feeling through the brush for the slightest give in the branches. She felt the small gap and smiled, reaching with both hands and parting it slightly before sticking her leg through and glancing back at Anakin who stared at her in puzzled shock. It must be a sight to see a princess half being swallowed by a hedge, but she didn’t really care right now. “Come on,” She urged, turning back to push through the hedge completely. Behind her she could hear him grumble as he stepped through the same opening she had and struggled a bit to get through. He was quite a bit bigger than her so the fit was a little snug as he grunted and let out a muffled curse when a branch struck him in the head.

Padme covered her mouth as she giggled when he emerged. He had a twig sticking out of his hair and a flower stuck through the back of his jacket. Reaching to his head, she carefully reached for the branch, but was unable to reach it until he seemed to understand what she was doing and crouched lower so she could pull it from his head. His eyes were now level with hers and she felt a flutter in her chest as she stared into them. She blinked and cleared her throat, turning from him and looking at where she had led him. The hedge maze, relative to the rest of the palace was fairly new, having only been around since the mid 1700’s. Before that, the grounds had been the location of a few older towers and complexes that had been a host of other things from guard barracks to a smaller private palace for either the monarch’s consort or, more scandalously, housing for the monarch’s lovers. Tearing down the complexes had been a decision made in support of a movement to preserve parks and gardens as the industrial revolution threatened to destroy some of the more beautiful landscapes across Naboo. The maze and the gardens were a symbol of solidarity from the monarchy.

This particular section of the maze was where one of the few remnants of one of those buildings. All that remained of it was the small rectangular room’s stone floor and the faded outline surrounded by the hedge. Near the left hand corner of the space, was an old wooden door protruding from the floor. Padme walked over to the door and pulled it open. The door creaked as dust billowed out followed by the scurrying insects disturbed from their homes. Reaching into the dark space below, she pulled up a metal bar which she then hooked to the door, forcing it to stay open.

Behind her, Anakin was watching her with a mix of curiosity and caution as he tried to figure out what she was up to and why he was here with her. In truth, she wasn’t sure what compelled her to show this to him, but they were already more than halfway there so she saw no reason to turn back now. Padme walked back to where he stood by the hedge they had emerged from and took his hand, “Come on,” She said, “I want to show you something,” She led him down the uneven stone steps through the trapdoor. The steps were winding and rough, forcing them to walk slowly or risk tripping and falling. The path was darkly shadowed, with the only light coming from the door they had entered and the small illumination at the bottom of the steps.

“Where are we going?” Anakin asked when they reached the halfway point, as a roaring sound became more audible and a light breeze could be felt. His eyes squinted ahead to see if he could get some idea where this stairway led to.

Padme smiled and continued to lead them down, “This used to be a pathway one of the prince’s a long time ago once used to sneak his mistresses into the palace without his parents finding out,” She explained. “It was one of the last additions made to this part of the land before the buildings were replaced with the gardens.” They stepped onto the last step and encountered an archway overgrown with moss and ivy through which they could see the light from the other side. By now the roar was loud and the breeze was filled with drops of water that splashed on their faces. Padme parted the ivy, and watched as Anakin stared out in awe at the sight before them.

They were behind one of the large waterfalls that cascaded down the back of the palace. A cobbled path seemed to wind around the cliffside leading down to the water below. The path was railed by finely crafted stone rails that were etched with the emblem of the royal family. Every few feet there was a stone statue protruding from the railing depicting beautiful women in all sorts of poses that ranged from sensual and seductive to wise and inquisitive. The statues had long since become a host to a number of plants and moss, but there were clear signs that there was some small effort to uncover each statue along the path.

Padme walked out onto the path and leaned against the railing, her eyes closed as she breathed in the fresh air and relaxed as the water hit her face. Slowly, he came to stand beside her, his jaw parted as he reached out and touched the waterfall, letting the water slip between his fingers. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked.

Anakin turned to her and pulled his hand back, laughing a breathy laugh as he shook his head, “I don’t think there is a word to describe this place,” He said, looking all around at everything from the statues to even the motifs caved into the back wall.

“My sister and I used to sneak here when we were kids.” She said. “Not many people even know this place exists. It’s what made this place feel like something out of a fairytale.”

Anakin shook his head, “Out of all the palaces and castles in Naboo… why here?” He asked. “This place is… amazing, there is no doubt… but no one can even see it.”

She shrugged and looked to him as she spoke, “Beauty is not something that needs to be seen and admired by the masses. Its simple existence is enough,” She said. “People may know the names and works of the great masters of art, but that doesn’t mean they all know what makes the work beautiful and the masters geniuses. Sometimes the most beautiful things are even made by the lesser known artists who are lost in the shadows of the masters.” She started walking down the path, her hand trailing behind her along the stone rail. Through the mist of the waterfall, she could see the glimmer of the small town below the capital city cast in the colors of the light rainbow formed by the waterfall. “My family can’t always run to the countryside estates when things get hard,” She said, “And even when we do, there is often still so many things that needs to be done. But here… it’s easy to forget even if it is only for a short time.”

“A chance to feel normal…” Anakin added in a small whisper as he came to stand behind her.

Padme turned toward him and shuttered at the close proximity of him. His hand was on the rail beside hers and her fingers trembled as she placed her hand over his. Their eyes were locked on one another as their fingers twined together, as if drawn by a mysterious connection that seemed to make the movements smooth and natural. His other hand came to her cheek as he brushed the backs of his fingers along her cheek, his pinky catching a curl of her hair and tucking it behind her ear. Her breath hitched as she reached up to take his hand in hers. Anakin swallowed stiffly as his eyes unmistakably flashed to her parted lips before looking back at her eyes. “I… I would like to kiss you now,” He said, his cheeks flushed, “But I know—“

“Do it,” She said, stepping closer to him so that her chest touched his.

He stiffened, but nodded his head as he slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was chaste at first, with him pulling back slightly after the light contact, but as she leaned back in, he complied with her request and kissed her again, and again, and again. Their lips moved softly against one another, her hand finding his shoulder and his tangling in her curls as kissed beneath the ray of sunlight that cut through the waterfall.

* * *

Sola smiled and waved through the car window at the crowd that had gathered along the street as the driver took her home. The smile hid what she was really feeling, knowing that appearances needed to be maintained especially in these early days of her reign. The car pulled past the gates and through the roundabout, stopping at the center doors to the palace. An entourage of stewards, and a selection of her guests were there to greet her and welcome her back as she stepped through the doors and almost immediately she was swallowed back into political discussions. She maintained the conversations loosely, doing what she could to quickly quell their concerns and arrange times to tend to each of the individual issues they brought up. At this point she was willing to say almost anything just to get a moment alone and away from all of this.

As the last of the entourage dissipated when she reached the stairs to the royal family’s living quarters, she took a moment just to make sure she was well and truly alone before sighing loudly and slouching her posture before kicking off her heels and continuing the walk to her room barefoot. She unbuttoned the first few buttons of her dress, letting the tight fabric open slightly and make it a bit more comfortable. She passed a few maids as she walked to her rooms. Most of them had seen her in worse states she she wasn’t worried about appearances any more.

Opening her doors, she was relieved to see that her handmaidens had already laid out a tray of her favorite snacks and had the TV turned on to her favorite rom-com channel. These girls were a god-send. The girls helped her into more comfortable loungewear as the three of them crowded onto the large bed with the tray of junk food between them as they watched the movie playing. She didn’t want to think about the Prime Minister, or Parliament, or the ambassadors, or anything. Why couldn’t things be as simple as the movies?

The door opened a crack as another of her handmaidens slipped in, a folder held close to her chest. Sola groaned loudly, “Don’t tell me…”

“Sorry, Your Majesty,” The girl said, bowing her head slightly as she brought the folder over to her. “The Foundation for Children has gotten back to us with an estimate for the construction of the facility your father endorsed in Theed,” She explained, “They need you to sign off on the funds before they can start construction.”

Sola sighed and took the file, flipping it open and skimming through it just barely before turning to the last page which laid out the total sum of the project. She nearly choked on the number as her eyes landed on the £2.4 million estimate. “This is outrageous!” She said, thrusting the file back at the girl. She knew not to blame the messenger, but the number was much too large for what the project entailed. “Who gave them this estimate?”

“Uh, that would be the construction company… Eckner Contracting.”

Her brow furrowed at the name of a private company being used instead of the state funded contractors. The latter would have been so much easier to deal with, but the terms of this deal had been struck before her coronation. “You tell them that their estimate is wrong, and that is must come down or we’ll find someone else to build it.” The handmaid bowed and departed to take care of it.

Rolling her shoulders, Sola relaxed back into he comfort of her bed with her friends, letting herself be immersed in the fantasy of the film that was playing, dreading all the while of the busy day that would follow.


	6. Chapter 5

She wished she could go back to the day before. She wished they were back at the secret path behind the waterfall rather than walking along the round balcony of secondary dome of the palace. This was a part of the palace few guests were allowed. It gave them some much needed privacy for a decent goodbye on this last day before he was to leave. It was strange to her how much she felt like she would miss him. Only just yesterday she had allowed him to kiss her, and for the rest of that day they had done little more than just sit around and talk about nothing of any real importance. She liked it. It was so simple, and his ease at making jokes around her, and even at her, was refreshing. To him it seemed, she wasn’t a princess needing to be respected or revered. He treated her like a woman; an equal.

As they walked, he was telling her the story of how he broke his arm climbing the side of a building to test out a pair of wings he had made out of cardboard and a crudely sewn shirt. The very idea sounded insane, and the way he talked about it confirmed it. He laughed and shook his head, “I saw it as one step closer to making a jetpack,” He said with a shrug. “If I could fly for even a few feet with that thing, all I needed to do was get an engine that could propel me farther.”

“You’re crazy.”

Anakin cocked his eyebrow and smirked, “Maybe,” He said. “I mean, I did jump after all. Didn’t work nearly as well as I thought it would.” He motioned with his hand his flight pattern which was nothing more than a takeoff followed immediately by direct crash which he illustrated by slapping his hand down on his other, mimicking the crash. “My mom was not happy,” He hissed. 

“I can’t imagine why.”

“It was stupid, I know. But, I learned a very important lesson.”

“Don’t jump off buildings?”

He laughed, “Wait for wind before you jump.”

Padme rolled her eyes as they both broke out in laughter, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder as his arm wrapped around her waist. By this time they were at a section of the balcony that gave them a perfect view of the capital city. The sunlight danced on the green domes and yellow-orange stonework that was classical Naboo architecture. A light breeze picked-up making her shiver and felt as Anakin’s arms came around her to keep her warm. She smiled and leaned into him as she sighed. “I wish we had more time,” She said.

Anakin was silent as he looked out straight ahead. “We could,” He whispered. “I mean… I could… stay a bit longer. If you wanted.”

She stared at him in silence, unsure what to make of his offer. Was he serious? Did he not have a job to do back in Coruscant? “I couldn’t ask you to do that,” She said. Besides, she would be busy. She had public openings to attend, speeches to make, obligations that would make it difficult to spend any amount of time that would make his stay worth whatever storm he would face when he got back home. Not to mention was it really wise for her to spend so much time with him? Right now, people thought she was coordinating with the hosts of the National Horse Association Annual Show, making sure she had the right names of important spectators she needed to acknowledge when she arrived, that she knew the arrangements for lunch, and know who was presenting awards with her. It was a small lie as she was going to speak with them later this evening, but sneaking around to meet with Anakin for this short amount of time, was not something she could keep up with should he stay longer. And if he was to stay, there was little doubt in her mind that tongues would start to wag. Tabloids were always looking for some scandal and royals were at the top of their list of people they want to gossip about.

Anakin smiled then turned to face her directly, one hand still on her waist. “Then don’t ask,” He said. “Just… tell me, if that’s something you want.” He smiled and took her hand in his. “I know I do.” He really was sweet. And kind, and funny. And real… and the way he looked right now with the sunlight haloed in his golden hair… he truly was quite handsome. His cheeks started to burn a little red as a panicked look took his eyes and he took a small step back, his hand that had been on her waist dropping away from her and climbing to scratch at the back of his neck. “Uh, I mean as a _friend_. Because what else would I mean. Right?” He stumbled over his words with awkwardness and uncertainty as he seemed to be trying to take the pressure off her.

Padme shook her head and placed her hand on his arm, rubbing up and down in a soothing movement as she looked up at him. “I do,” She said, leaning up on her toes to kiss his cheek as a way of reassuring him. He relaxed instantly as his hand returned to her waist and he leaned down to press his forehead to hers. “I just don’t want to get you into any trouble.”

“Hey, Ben is the least of my worries,” He scoffed, “And anything he throws at me will be over with after he mopes around for a week or two.”

She shook her head and pulled her head back to look him in the eye. He made things sound so easy, it reminded her that he came from a completely different world than her. A world where he was in the background and could come and go as he pleased, where problems could easily be solved by waiting them out. Her world was not like that at all. “Ben isn’t who I was worried about,” She said. “If you’re seen with me, the press will want to know everything about you. They’ll tear you apart just to get any kind of dirt on you.”

His face fell, “You don’t want to be seen with me?”

“Of course I do. That’s not what I meant.” Padme tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear as she took a breath. “I like spending time with you,” She said. “What I don’t want is the press to come to some kind of conclusion about us when I don’t even know what that means.”

He pulled back again and turned to look over the balcony. She could tell he was thinking hard on what she had said and Padme couldn’t blame him if he wanted to step back and keep things at a distance. She remembered what her friends at school had gone through as they grew up. Being close to the royal family was not as easy as movies made them out to be. To some they were little more than cheap entertainment or tokens to barter with. And as much as she understood, she really didn’t want to push him away, but she couldn’t let him walk blindly into her life — it wouldn’t be fair to him.

Anakin turned back to her, a determined glint in his eye. “I’ll stay for a week,” He said, holding up a finger. “I’m sure I can fly under the radar for a week. We talk, hang out… maybe sneak out to do some sightseeing—“

“It’ll never work,” She said. “I have obligations I am committed to. And I’m too well known in the city to be able to remain undetected.”

“Then we won’t stay in Theed,” He said, as if the solution was obvious. Padme opened her mouth to object, but he cut her off. “Come on, I’m sure there are others who can take over your duty for a week. Or you pretend that you’re sick. No one would bother you then, right?”

The opportunity was tempting. It was… rebellious — something more in Sola’s area of expertise — and the thought of breaking away even in something as small as spending time getting to know someone thrilled her. She didn’t know what possessed her to even consider it, but for once, she decided to simply let go. She gave one small nod of her head, and it was all the confirmation Anakin seemed to need for he charged her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, lifting her and spinning her with joyous abandon. It caught her so off guard that all she could do was hang onto his shoulders and laugh, letting herself be swept off in the carefree moment.

* * *

Dinner was served at sundown just two hours after the last of the guests had left to return home, thus freeing the family to enjoy a casual dinner in the small breakfast room in the royal residence wing of the palace. Sola was the last to arrive. Without having any need to dress up, the three of them had all opted to dress down for the evening. Padme still wore her skirt from earlier in the day with a pair of slip-on flats but the matching jacket was gone, and the crisp white sleeves were now rolled past her elbows while her hair was tied back loosely by a woven hairband. Their mother was probably the most dressed up, as she wore all the trappings of her day outfit, save for the footwear which was a fancy pair of slippers instead of her heels. As for Sola, she had changed out of her dress and into a pair of plaid pajama bottoms, an old Beatles t-shirt, and an untied silk robe. Her hair was done up in a messy bun and she took her seat lacking all the grace of a monarch as she sat with one knee bent up with her foot resting on the seat. Her eyes were a little puffy, a clear indication that she had just woken from a nap.

Sola let out a yawn as she stretched her arms high over her head “I am so glad things are finally going to be back to normal,” She exclaimed as the three of them sat around the small intimate dining table.

“Not exactly normal, dear,” Their mother said gently as she smiled at her girls.

Sola rolled her eyes, “Well, of course not _exactly_ normal, but… a _sort_ of normal.”

“I know that. I’m just… pulling your leg.” She said, reaching over and pulling on Sola’s ankle until it wasn’t on the seat anymore.

The three of them laughed joyfully as Sola righted herself. A knock on the door alerted them to the arrival of dinner and a finely dressed server entered with a tray held high and his arm folded behind his back. With an elegant and respectful bow of his head, he went about serving their dinner. A fine seasoned roast chicken with fresh greens, the scent wafted as the lid on the tray was lifted and he set the main dinner in the center of the table and set up the place settings for the three women, starting with Sola, then their mother and Padme being the last. The settings were simple, with floral ceramic plates and white cloth napkins. There was no need for their meals to be already served as it was just them. It was one of the small little things the family liked to do when they were alone. The server left just for a moment before he returned with a silver wine chiller and a bottle of red from the family reserve. He poured each of them a small glass before leaving the wine in the chiller. With one final deep bow, he took his leave, allowing the women to enjoy their meal in private.

Sola’s mouth watered in anticipation of the meal and quickly went about cutting her piece first. She took a section of the breast and a cut from the leg as well as a serving of the greens and dug in as soon as she was finished, not waiting for the others to get their food.

“I hope you don’t plan to do that with the Minister of Finance this week,” Padme said jokingly as she finished serving herself.

“If I choose to serve hamburgers and onion rings, maybe I will,” She countered, just as jokingly.

“Could you imagine his face if you did?” The sisters laughed at the thought of how the old man would react to his first dinner with the Queen only to find fast food instead of the finely catered delicacies that were known by their chef.

“He’d try to eat it with a fork and knife.” Sola chuckled. “I’ve missed this,” She said. “These past weeks have been so crazy. It’s nice to have the palace all to ourselves again.”

Their mother smiled, “Well, not all to ourselves,” She said, turning to look at Padme. “That boy from the Coruscant delegation is still here.”

Sola shot a surprised look at her sister and watched the younger girl’s cheeks flush a light pink. “And you didn’t invite him to dinner?” She asked in shock. She had been hoping to corner him during his visit and get some idea about him, and maybe threaten him with the prison tower if he hurt her sister; but that hadn’t happened. And now she found out he was still here? Curious.

Padme kept her head high as she took a bite of her dinner, “He wanted to give us some family time,” She answered. “He was more than happy taking dinner in his room.”

“Or you just didn’t want him to meet us,” She countered.

“You’ve already met him. Plus it was his idea.”

Sola scoffed, “I met him as a secretary. I never met him as my baby sister’s boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” She said defensively.

“Then why is he still here?”

Padme was silent as she ate quietly for a moment. Sola wanted to continue her line of blunt questioning, but their mother got to it first. “I heard you were giving the horse show and education foundation appearances to Sabe,” Their mother said.

“What!” Sola’s voice rose as she leaned forward in her seat. Their handmaidens were trained to potentially act as decoys for a security measure. There had been times where they had been useful, allowing the royal family a chance to be seen without being in any real danger. But they seldom used them without reason. It was strange for Padme to make arrangements to use her decoy without a good reason.

Padme cleared her throat, “Well… Yes. I was meaning to tell you about that…” She said as she sunk a little in her seat. It was only a small bit, and would have barely been noticed by anyone who didn’t know her well. Sola leaned closer, eager to know what her sister was planning, and knowing that she was on the verge of spilling. She wanted to shake the answer out of her, but didn’t want to ruin the set up their mother had planned. Padme took a breath and glanced between her mother and sister before she spoke. “I invited him to the lake house,” She said. “It’s secluded, away from public scrutiny… Plus it is the perfect example of Romanticism architecture in Naboo and has all the facets of our culture without the mess of all the tourist stuff.”

Sola rolled her eyes. Sure _that_ was the reason she was taking a trip with him. She could see what was really going on even if her sister couldn’t. It was just a matter of when she would figure it out as well. It was oh so tempting to just tell her what was happening… but she was also curious how long it would take her to figure it out for herself. She smiled and relaxed back in her seat, shifting her attention back to her chicken. “Okay,” Sola said, watching the confused look on her sister’s face. This was going to be interesting.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It had taken some effort to get out of the capital city without drawing unwanted attention, though any vehicle driving through the palace gates tended to draw a bit of a crowd as people tried to see if anyone of importance was inside. The crowd stuck to them for maybe a block or two before the car merged with normal city traffic, thus allowing them to travel freely. The driver took them down several detours, and they passed the train station they wanted to go to several times before they were dropped off at the departures. No one paid them any mind, neither one of them looking like any one of real importance. Padme was dressed simply in a floral sun dress with a cardigan while Anakin wore a blue button up shirt and slacks. To passers, they looked no different than any of the hundreds of other young couples traveling on vacation.

From the front seat, one of Padme’s handmaidens had accompanied them for one final goodbye and as their driver went to the back to retrieve their bags, the two women shared a tight hug. “Remember, if you need any of us, we can get out there in one hour if we need to scramble a chopper,” She whispered into Padme’s hair.

Padme rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll be fine,” She assured, taking her friends hands in hers. “Just promise me, Dorme you’ll look out for my sister. God only knows what she’ll do without me here.” They laughed as the driver reached over to pass her the bag. She smiled at him as he bowed his head, “Safe travels, your— ma’am.” He corrected himself, clearing his throat as he adjusted his tie. “Paddy will meet you at the station.”

She nodded in understanding, “I know, Typho,” She said, “And thank you.”

The driver bit his tongue before he spoke again, “I know it’s too late to change your mind but… just remember to be careful. Security isn’t as tight as it is here.”

“And that’s exactly why we’re going. And you know I can protect myself if I need to.” She glanced over at Anakin who was standing on the curb adjusting the straps of his backpack. “Besides, it’s not like I’ll be alone.”

Dorme gave a suggestive smirk while Typho grimaced. “That is another reason to be careful,” He said, only to receive a swat from Dorme. After another round of goodbyes, Padme went to Anakin’s side, walking with him into the station with a sense of excitement and trepidation. This was the first time in a long time that she was traveling alone. No security, no entourage, no press… it was a strange feeling but not wholly unwelcome. 

Glancing to her left, Anakin hid very little of his nervousness. He was tense and his fingers tapped a rhythmless tune on the straps of his backpack as they walked. He still knew very little about where they were going. Few people outside the royal family ever went to the lake house. In her whole life, there had only been one time during the summer where the house had been opened to a tour and that was when she was five and it was for the 500 th anniversary of the region joining Naboo.

After passing through security and making their way to the waiting room, they both bought some coffee and a fresh pastry from one of the small food kiosks before finding a place to sit. Being the middle of the summer months, the station was heavily crowded. Trains were called going to just about anywhere; Madrid, London, Paris… Naboo a central point in Europe that could get to just about any station in the continent with times ranging from two hours to fourteen.

They had maybe a half hour before their train began boarding and so Padme took the time to sit back in her seat and lean closer to Anakin. He smiled at her and took her hand in his. On instinct, she glanced around, expecting the act to garner some kind of reaction, but it didn’t. Completely inconspicuous. This was nice. Padme sighed as she leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling almost giddy with this small yet very public display of any kind of affection. Yet as thrilling as it was, she could not wait until they arrived at the lake house. Privacy was something she felt they desperately needed if they were to cultivate any kind of relationship be it a good friendship or… something more. The attraction she felt to him was hard to ignore, and his equal attraction to her was so new that she felt like if he said jump, she would do it willingly. But Padme was not an impulsive person, while her heart pulled one way, her mind wanted justify that pull. Time was the best way to figure things out. And Anakin didn’t seem to argue with that.

Their platform was called, and gathering their stuff, they made their way down. Padme had only been on a commercial train maybe twice in her whole life. Whenever she traveled by train, it was often in the Royal train car which was a short four or six car train that was specially reserved for her family and their guests. Typho had tried to convince her to travel using that, but she argued against it, as it would have required too much re-scheduling of trains and would have drawn too much attention. besides, the train ride wouldn’t be too long. A quick three-hour train ride was nothing that needed excess luxury and security.

The conductor walked along the platform, calling the train details in English, French and Spanish to make sure people got on the right train car. Unlike the trains that were crossing the boarders into Spain or France, the train they were boarding was slightly smaller with fewer cars and was of an older more elegant design. The Lake Country was a cultural landmark for Naboo and thus was one of the least industrialized regions of the country. With only two main train lines going in and out of the region, the trains that were on those lines took great pride in the beauty of the Lake Country and designed the trains so that they fit in with everything else there.

Anakin was the first of them to step up into their car. He carried their bags up the three steps to the seating area before stepping back to help her in as well. She took his hand gratefully as she stepped over the gap and followed him inside. The car they were in was one of the first class cars with glass doors that separated each booth to allow the passengers privacy. They walked down a bit until they reached the middle of the car where their booth was. The retractable table was pulled out half way and set with two plates with warm bread rolls and two glasses of white wine. They stored their bags on the racks overhead and sat down across from one another. Anakin’s attention immediately went to the bread as he picked it up and took a bite. He let out a pleased moan as he eagerly took another bite, and another until it was gone. Padme giggled and shook her head as she too ate, albeit much slower. The moment she bit into it, she understood exactly why Anakin reacted the way he had. Five blossom bread. A Naboo pastry renowned for its sweetness and historical role during the famine of 1568. Made with a basic bread dough, and mixed with milla sage flowers and a combination of sugars; it is said that no two bakers use the exact same recipe. Every family had baked however they could, and that was how each family had recorded it. Five blossom bread was one of those old traditions that carried on even today. And while the bread on the train was a more commercialized version of it, made to fit the taste of anyone who had it, it still tasted good and based on Anakin’s reaction to it, she secretly wondered how he’d react to her own family recipe.

* * *

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Transportation were in the middle of a heated debate in front of the Queen and her cabinet. Sola had been here since mid-day and after long hours of deliberation, her energy and her patience was wearing thin. The two old men were arguing about… was it modifications to an airport? Or one of the ferry routes? She honestly couldn’t remember. All she knew was that whatever the Minister of Transportation wanted would cost too much money, while the Minister of Transportation suggested something to do with lowering funds to… whatever. All of it was enough to make her want to slam her head against the fine wood desk! Her eyes drifted to the opulent clock that sat on the desk. The hands ticked quietly as she watched it, thinking only about how long it would take the cook to make her favorite dish and have it brought to her sitting room, and then how long she should reasonably stay up watching cheesy romance films before going to bed. None of this really surprised her. All this stuff was boring to her. And while she did her duty, and tried to do at least as well as her father before her, it was still a difficult transition for her.

A knock on her office door was the only thing that had the bickering ministers stop for a moment as a servant walked in and bowed his head. “Pardon, your Majesty, but the representative from Eckner Contracting is here,” He said.

“Huh?” Sola scrunched her nose as she tried to dig through her head for the name.

“The contracting service hired to build the children’s home in Theed, Ma’am.”

She remembered a little about the project. It was her father’s idea, and she knew that she had… something to do. She just couldn’t remember what exactly. nevertheless, whatever it was, it couldn’t be nearly as boring as whatever these fossils were talking about. “Ah, yes! Of course,” She said, plastering on an apologetic smile as she looked at her ministers. “I do apologize, ladies and gentlemen, but we will need to reconvene at a later time.”

The ministers all bowed as they bid her a good evening and made small last minute requests for her to look at things or consider something, all of which she let blur into one thought which she pushed to the back of her mind as they all exited. The servant stood at the door, holding it open for the ministers as they filed out. Once they were gone, two more servants entered, speedily collecting forgotten tea cups, and straitening out the seats and bringing her a fresh pot of tea. Sola took this moment to slump into her desk chair as she took a long gulp of tea, savoring the momentary silence.

“Shall I send him in?” The servant asked once the last of the servants tidying left.

She wanted to just send him away and get on with her evening… but, that would be rude. And that would just mean she’d have to see him another time. With a reluctant sigh, she gave the order to send him in. As she waited, she straitened herself up, and lightly tapped her cheeks to try and make herself more alert. A knock on the door, and then it opened revealing a young man with dark curly hair walking in. He carried a file under one arm as he came to stand in the middle of the room before her.

“Your Majesty,” He said, bowing at the waist. He looked a little disheveled for someone who had an audience with a queen. His face was stubbly, and his gray suit looked a little small, the shoulders too tight and the jacket too short. His white dress shirt looked un-ironed and overall, it looked like he was called in to meet with her at the very last minute. Strike one for this Eckner Contracting company. “I thank you for reaching out to us. I understand there is a discrepancy with the estimate we gave you. I’d be happy to go over it with you in detail, if you’d like.” He had a pleasant smile as he gestured to the file in his hand.

Sola nodded once, “Yes, I think that is necessary,” She said, looking back at the door where the servant stood waiting, “Would you please bring me the estimate that was brought to me?” She asked the servant, who nodded and retreated, only to return barely a moment later with the file in question in hand. Sola took it and make a show of flipping though it thoughtfully. When she got to the last page with the estimate she tapped the number lightly and ticked her tongue. “Yes, you see, I received an estimate of £2.4 million,” She said, “Tell me, is that what you have Mister… I’m sorry, I never got your name.”

“Janren, your Majesty, Darred Janren.” He bowed his head again and opened the file in his hands, skimming it as he checked what he had. “And yes, that is our estimate.”

“Well, Mr. Janren. It seems that estimate is much too high,” She said. “My ministers have informed me that such a project should only cost around £1.8 million.”

He smiled not unkindly as he nodded, “In an ideal situation, yes,” He agreed. “But that is not the case here.” He pulled out a blueprint and walked up to her desk — uninvited — and laid it down in front of her. The blueprint had two sets of markings on it. One was in a brown pencil while the other was in white. A series of calculations were written in the corners of the paper, with a few squiggle notes on a few placed within the building layout. Sola didn’t understand any of it just looking at it. Darred pointed at the markings. “The brown lines are the current building that is on the plot right now. The white is what the Foundation wants built,” He explained. “See, we initially went through the current structure to make sure everything was sound, and to make note of anything that needs to be brought up to code. If the structure was sound and met modern code, we could easily write an estimate for maybe…” His eyes rolled up as his fingers tapped for a moment, clearly running the numbers in his head, “£1.6 give or take £0.3. but this,” He pointed at the blueprint again, “The interior is trashed.” He pointed at several rooms with notes scribbled on them, “Damaged support beams, corroded walls, asbestos, damage to the foundation; it is in too poor a condition to settle for much less than £2.4.”

Sola looked at the blueprint and sighed. “We can’t fund that much,” She said. “You need to come up with a better estimate.”

“We can’t.”

“Then perhaps we will find someone who can.”

Darred bowed his head, “If that is what you wish. But I’m telling you, if anyone does go below our number, they’re going to do a superficial job of it.”

She gave him a half smile, “Your concern is noted,” she said. “I thank you for your insight.”

He gave a polite bow and collected his things before being escorted out. On his exit, one of her handmaidens entered, ready with a notepad no doubt filled with the details on what she had to do tomorrow, one of which she knew was to arrange for a new contractor.


	8. Chapter 7

As had been arranged previously, Paddy stood in the main hall of the station in the Lake Country to greet them on arrival. Padme smiled widely at the elderly man ran forward to embrace him in a tight hug. He placed a tender kiss to her temple as he stepped back to get a look at her. Paddy was not like most of the staff that worked for her family. He was an old grandfatherly man who spat on traditional rules when it came to royals. "People are people no matter if they have a shinny hat," He famously said to a young Queen Elizabeth II in the 60's. Her father always said he was lucky she found it funny rather than rude. But that was Paddy. He always treated Sola and Padme as if they were his granddaughters and they absolutely loved it.

Paddy let them out of the station and down the few blocks to the docks that were used to get to the more secluded residences that were on the lake's Lake Country consisted of three large lakes and a main town that stretched to touch the mouth of both lakes. Mountains surrounded the entire area with lush trees and dipping valleys and meadows with waterfalls. It was undoubtedly one of the worlds greatest natural beauties, and the government did everything in their power to keep it that way. Padme herself was a major supporter of Naboo's Environmental Protection Bureau and often sat at their meetings as a representative of the Monarchy. In line with the region's policy, they boarded an electric motor boat when they got to the dock. The trip out through the center of the lake was quiet, filled only with the light hum of the motor and the splash of the water as they glided through.

As they rounded the slight bend, a smile tugged at her lips as a large estate came into view. The two main domes had been made of bronze and overtime the oxidation had tinted them a bluish-green. The yellow stone was a beautiful complement and adorned with large coverings of ivy that had been grown over generations. The central house was a typical square shape and roofed with classical red-orange roof tiles. A stone dock stretched out onto the water and Paddy slowed down with practiced precision as they slowly drifted towards the dock. A small assembly of people stood under the overhanging awning, waiting for them as the boat came to a stop and Paddy threw ropes over the docking hooks before carefully pulling them close enough to climb out.

Anakin stepped off first, his eyes wide in awe at the place they would be staying for the next week. It seemed to take all his focus to tear his eyes away and look back at her as he reached down to help her out. Paddy was the last to get off, having lifted all their bags off the boat and instructing the small assembly of people as to what goes where. Padme paid little mind to the goings on behind her as she carefully took Anakin's hand and led him up the steps to the terrace. Opulent arches of carved wood were evenly spread across the terrace, with decorative pots of plants between them. Anakin looked out over the water and smiled as a breeze fluttered past them. The air here was so fresh, and clear Padme always found that it was so much easier to breathe out here than anywhere else.

"The water is so clear here," Anakin remarked, his gaze locked on the reflection of the mountains on the surface of the water. "There weren't a lot of lakes in Tunisia when I was growing up. And from there, I went straight to live in a big metropolitan city. Seeing all of this…"

"Amazes you?"

"Well… yeah," He said giving her a warm smile. "My apartment in Coruscant has a few potted plants, and there are a few parks throughout the city… but they're nothing compared to this. I don't think there are any words to truly describe this place."

Padme smiled, "Tell that to all the poets that consider this region their muse." Anakin chuckled and shook his head as they both came to stand at the edge of the terrace. Padme leaned onto stone railing and looked out over the water. "I used to come up here with my family for holidays and small vacations," She said. "It's the one place in the world where we didn't feel like we were anything special. No press, no obligations, we could wear what we wanted, do what we wanted…" Her hand pointed out to the small island floating far out in the middle of the lake. "See that island? My sister and I would swim out there every chance we got. I love the water." Her eyes closed as she thought about all the times she had come here in the past, losing herself in the memories. "We'd stay out there for hours until we started to worry that our parents noticed we were gone. We'd race back as quickly as we could, then lie out on the sand and let the sun dry us… and try to guess the names of the birds singing." In the distance, she could hear the faint whistle of a few birds singing. She tried to pick out a few of their names from memory.

"I never really liked the sand," Anakin said. "When you live in a desert, it gets everywhere and in everything. Even after I left, I was still finding sand in my things for a good two weeks."

Padme turned to look at him and let out a breathy laugh with him as he spoke.

"Flying over this place for the first time was unlike anything I'd ever seen. And being here now, seeing all of it first hand, it's… magical." Anakin shifted almost unconsciously closer to her. Their eyes were drawn to one another, locked as they stared deeply into one another.

His eyes were so clear; A blue as crisp as the shallow waters along the bank, but holding the intensity and mystery of the deepest lake. There was an old saying in Naboo when it came to their waters; 'stare too long, and it will be the end of your song.' It came from an old legend about sailors and sirens. And as ridiculous as it was, she found that the longer she stared at him, the more she was drawn to him.

Slowly he moved closer still, and she found her eyes closing, a silent plea for his lips to touch hers. And he did. Anakin pressed into her, kissing her deeply as she leaned into him. It felt like she could kiss him for hours.


	9. Chapter 8

There was a mix of pride and exhaustion that she felt radiating from herself as she settled into her vanity chair at the end of the long day. Sola had dismissed her handmaids to allow them a night to themselves since it was the very least she could do after they had tirelessly helped her rearrange her schedule for the day and sorted through the things that needed to be done urgently so that other less pressing matters could be done later. It was hard work for them and with her day done, all she had left to do was take her hair down and sleep. Her feet ached from the heels she had worn most of the day and her eyes felt heavy even under the light layer of natural colored makeup she wore. She reached into her hair and pulled out the pins that held her tight bun together, letting her brown locks fall to her shoulders. With a brush, she carefully ran it through her hair as she took great care to untangle any knots that had formed.

Overall, she was satisfied with how her day had been. It had taken several meetings with several other companies and negotiating for a reasonable price on the new building for the Foundation for Children, but after a series of potential contractors, she found one that came within a reasonable price. N.G. Industries had sent one of their company reps, a man named Lott Dod, to present their estimate to her and after a little back and forth with the number, he came out to £1.87 million— a much more reasonable price for her to commit to. A quick gander at the contract to make sure all was sound, and then her signature and seal gave the company the approval to begin construction. A few weeks from now, she’ll be unveiling her first charity contribution as Queen. She couldn’t wait.

* * *

Their lips fused in a slow languid kiss as they lay out in the field. Padme sat atop him, her legs straddling him as her hands ran through his hair. His hands stayed on her hip, climbing only as high as her back as his neck craned to chase her lips and keep the kiss going. This wasn’t what she had originally planned when they first arrived in the meadow for a nice picnic lunch. The lush grass danced in the breeze from the roaring wind caused by the waterfalls that surrounded them on three sides. Things had started out well enough, with light conversation about things she hadn’t thought about in years, and he had playfully mocked her political ambitions; but as their food ran out, he had come up with a brilliantly stupid idea.

The fields were home to a large herd of deer that roamed the grassy terrain. For the most part, they were quite docile and happy enough to share the space with people… at least until one Anakin Skywalker decided to try and pet one. The doe in question had been grazing peacefully with her fawn when Anakin tried to approach slowly. He had gotten within touching distance, when the buck let out loud grunt and charged, startling the herd to flee while the maleaimed to fend off the perceived threat. Naturally, Anakin ran, hoping that the buck wouldn’t try to skewer him on his antlers, but the animal was too fast and Anakin ended up tripping over his own feet as the buck reached him. A loud thud and Anakin was rolling on the ground as the buck trampled over him, stopping a few feet from him and turning back to let out another warning grunt before running off in the direction of the rest of the herd.

Padme had watched the entire scene as it unfolded and once the buck had left, she waited where she stood, her hands twitching with nervousness as Anakin tried to push himself up but only to fall back down onto the ground. Worried, she rushed to him, calling out his name as she fell in beside him and rolled him onto his back to see the damage that had been done. But where she expected him to be groaning in pain, with a few cuts and bruises, she found him laughing historically. He had tricked her. He made her think he had been hurt and with a mix of anger and relief that he was alright, she hit him repeatedly on the chest for scaring her. Anakin didn’t seem to mind, instead grabbing her by the waist and rolling her onto her back, but Padme was not content to give up the fight and so rolled him onto his back. Over and over they rolled until they were both out of breath and Anakin was laying in the grass with her on top of him. They were both smiling, blissfully content as they stared at each other. 

A small glint in Anakin’s eye and the way his lips parted though, had Padme cock her head to the side. “What is it?” She’d asked.

He was still out of breath, as he gave a small shake of his head, “You’re just… so beautiful,” He said, so honestly and unabashed, that it made her heart flutter in her chest and she could not fight the urge she had in that moment to simply kiss him.

They stayed like that for a long time, enjoying the feel of each other’s lips, giving in to the adoring feelings, cautious about going too far, but still wanting so much more. His fingers twisted into her hair, pulling it free from its ties as she ran her fingers along the light stubble on his jaw. Every action felt coordinated, as they seemed to move in sync with one another.

They way she was positioned over him, had her back feel a little stiff, but it was nothing compared to the feel of lips on hers, the heat that seemed to radiate into her from his chest. It was a little uncomfortable, she had to admit, but a little shifting had her sliding down to a position that was a bit more comfortable, though to her unexpected surprise, his sharp intake of breath and the way his hips shifted, gave her a little warning of the affect she had on him. The moment she felt the hardened evidence of his arousal, Anakin was the first to pull back. His cheeks were flushed and his jaw was slack as he shifted under her, clearly embarrassed by the natural reaction his body had.

Neither of them seemed to want to acknowledge it, neither really knew how anyway; so, instead, Padme simply smiled at him and rolled onto her side next to him. Curling into his side, she ran her hand through his hair again, petting him with affection before kissing his lips again. The day had been so perfect that the last thing she wanted to do was talk about something like that. For now, she was more than content to simply forget about it and leave it for another day.


	10. Chapter 9

The sheer curtains floated in the morning breeze as sunlight slowly started to peek into the large bedroom. The light rolling of the waves and the smell of the lake was alluring to Padme as she fought the urge to wake up and greet the day. All her life duty had compelled her to be an early riser but here, she was always more than willing to fight it off just to enjoy the comfort of her bed just a little longer. Rolling onto her back, she arched her back and stretched, sighing as she breathed in deep. It was going to be a beautiful day. The weekend market was a popular attraction for locals and she was looking forward to enjoying the market stalls with Anakin. If dinner last night had been any indication, he would love all the food stalls filled with fresh baked goods. The never ending quantities of food should be enough to sate his appetite while she enjoyed the fine craftsmanship from local jewelry makers, weavers and artists. Back in Theed, while she had access to any number of priceless works of art from the most renowned painters in the country, her favorites and especially the ones in her rooms, were made by either lesser known artist or even those still unknown to the world. Such works had a character to them that she found interesting.  
Rising from the bed, she pulled on a thick blue robe and carefully walked towards the double doors that led onto the terrace. Standing against the railing, she saw Anakin leaning on his hands as he stared out at the waters. His face looked content and relaxed as his eyes were closed, letting the wind pull at his hair. He looked as if he had just woken up as well, his eyes still a little puffy and his shirt rumpled as if it had spent the night on floor. She smiled as she slowly walked to join him, standing beside him as they looked out at the water together.  
“I think I might need to move,” He said. “I’d love to wake up to this every morning.”  
“It is pretty great,” She agreed, leaning forward on her elbows. “If I didn’t have so much to do in Theed, I’d probably come stay here more often.”  
He gave a small shrug, “Then… why not do a little less?” He suggested. His voice sounded a little nervous, as if afraid his words might offend her. And if it had come from someone else, it might have.  
It was clear he was asking out of a genuine curiosity and for that, she couldn’t possibly take offense. “Because the Queen can’t possibly do everything herself, it is the duty of the family to stand in for her on smaller matters to show that the crown is taking an active stance on issues. It’s a matter of leading by example,” She explained.  
“Even still, you are entitled to a break every now and then.”  
She smiled. It was nice to talk to someone about this who cared more about her wants and needs rather than the nation. She liked having him around. “You know…” She started, “this is the first real vacation I’ve taken in a long time.”  
“Me too,” He said. “I’ve been saving up vacation days for awhile. I wanted to visit my mom a few months ago, but couldn’t get the time off. So I was planning on a surprise trip for a few weeks from now.”  
“Where does your mother live? Does she still do translation work?”  
Anakin shrugged, “A little. Not as much as she used to. She lives in Cairo now and works remotely most of the time. Every once in awhile she’d be called to go to Algeria, but that hasn’t happened for some time now.” His gaze fell to his hands as he let out a slow breath. “I haven’t been able to go see her since she moved down there,” He admitted. “And that was three years ago.”  
Padme reached across and took his hand in hers. She really had no idea what to say, or if she should say anything. Instead, she gave his hand a light squeeze and watched the small smile grace his handsome face as he looked to her. “So,” He started, looking to change to subject away from his mother. “When does this market open?”

* * *

Reports from the construction site came in regularly as Sola had requested. She didn’t have much time to dedicate to the project, and so for majority of the time, the reports were left to her handmaidens to read through and let her know if anything was wrong. So far, no problems were delaying the project, for which Sola was quite proud of. At this rate, it even looked as if they might finish early. She smiled as she sat at her desk with a cup of tea and read over the notes for her next meeting with the agricultural minister to discuss crop yields. It should be a routine meeting just to keep her informed on the season’s predictions so that she may consider how much to plan to import if necessary. But if her notes are accurate, they won’t really need to worry too much about that.  
In the hallway outside her office she could hear what sounded like an argument. Her brow furrowed as she tried to listen more but couldn’t identify the voices clearly. She didn’t have to wait long to find out as a servant came in and bowed. “Your Majesty—“ He began but was cut off as the man he was presumably arguing with marched in.  
“Do you have any idea what is happening at the construction site?” He asked, not even showing her the proper respect by bowing or greeting her politely.  
“I’m sorry?” Sola was clearly confused as the man growled and opened the file in his arms and laid out a series of pictures on her desk.  
“The site for the new children’s house,” He clarified, pointing at the images of a busy construction site with workers.  
Sola took a quick glance at the images, and having no idea what she was looking at or who the man in her office was, she looked to her servant. “I’m sorry, but who is this?” She demanded.  
“Darred Janren,” The man answered. “My company gave you the initial quote.”  
Now she knew who he was. Though why he was here and how he got in was beyond her. It was clear that he was angry, and she knew well enough that it was best to try and defuse the situation. “Well, clearly we decided to go in another direction,” She said diplomatically. “The contracts are signed, and the funds have been transferred, so there is nothing more to be discussed.”  
Mr. Janren shook his head, “Lott Dod is a crook!” He declared. “They’ll take your money and pocket 75% of it, and the remaining 25% is going to go into shoddy work, with shoddy materials.” He pointed at the pictures again, “You can already see that happening! Quarry Cement is the cheapest stuff on the market. It’s used for small patch jobs, not a full sidewalk. And the insulation they have piled there has been sitting out for days! That stuff isn’t meant to be exposed to the elements. It compromises the integrity and makes it prone to mold.” He paused to take a breath as Sola looked at the pictures.   
She really had no idea what he was talking about though. She wasn’t a contractor. For all she knew, he was just making this stuff up to try and make a deal because he missed the first one. Well, Sola wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. A good Queen knows to stand by her choices. “Mr. Janren, I have spoken personally with Lott Dod prior to beginning this project. I have full faith in their abilities,” She said. She gave a small gesture to her servant to kindly escort him out. “If you’ll excuse me, I do have other matters to take care of.”  
He scoffed and pulled his arm free from the servant. “People are going to get hurt it you let this continue,” He said. “Children will get hurt. I hope you realize your mistake before that happens.” Without another word, he left.

* * *

The bustling weekend market was arranged along the main road that ran along the waters edge. People filled the street as they shopped and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather. Children laughed and played on several amusement attractions that had been set up for their entertainment. There were blow up bouncing houses, slides, and a large obstacle jungle gym that kids could play in while their parents sat across the way at a small pavilion that housed some of the food and drink stands. Padme smiled as she watched the children play. She’d always loved children and wanted to one day have a few of her own. But that seemed a bit far off for her.  
Beside her, Anakin munched away on some pastries he had bought at one of the small stands. He had a bag full of other snacks he had bought and as she had predicted he was very happy with all the food there. Her arm was linked through his as they walked, talking about little things and simply enjoying everything the market had to offer. At first, she was a little nervous about walking so close to him and showing such a small gesture of her affection for him. But there were so many other people doing the same, and no one really even noticed them at all. It seemed safe enough to assume their anonymity was safe.  
Farther down the road, they entered the crafters section of the market. Glass blowers had set up kilns in the back of their tents so that they may continue working and even offered custom works of vases and pendents and other works of beauty. Artists had their easels and paints and pencils set up so that they could work when inspiration struck them or to show off to the crowds. And weavers had looms sitting in the back of their tents as they sat working on blankets and tapestries. Each tent had their works on display with prices listed nearby so people knew what was for sale.  
Anakin’s attention seemed to be drawn to one of the stalls, as he let her go and said, “Be right back,” Before disappearing into the crowd with a skip in his step.  
Padme shook her head as he wandered away and took the moment to browse one of the metal worker’s stands. The table was full of small cases and boxes that had jewelry inside with barely an inch of the purple blanket they were set up on visible. She eyed a set of bracelets that were made of twisted metal that all met in the middle to form a small lotus flower. It was made from a combination of stainless steel, bronze and hints of rose gold which was intricately joined with the lotus design for detail. It was beautiful. And such a unique piece that she couldn’t resist paying the small bit of money for it. By the time the transaction was finished, Anakin had returned with a small wrapped parcel in his hand and a large grin on his face.  
His arm wrapped around her shoulders as they continued through the market. “What exactly did you get?” She asked, curious as she eyed the package again.  
He merely shrugged. “Nothing special.”


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The deafening cheers from the crowd and the flashing of cameras from the press section left Sola a little nervous as she sat listening to remarks from the director of the children's home gave his gratitude to the royal family for their commitment to the wellbeing of the youth of their country. She barely heard a word of it as she fiddled with the paper leaflet in her hand on which her own speech was written. She had practiced it well over a hundred times in the past few days, wanting everything to be perfect. From the outside, it might look like a simple opening ceremony, but for Sola, this was the culmination of years of hard work done by her father. His last passion project. The essence of what he wanted to be remembered for. All her life, her father talked about improving the lives of their own people. International conflicts, and assisting valued allies, had required him to put such things aside for what many at the time considered to be "the greater good". In the end, he regretted their involvement in some conflicts, saw that there had been easier solutions that would not have required as much man-power or financing, and wished that he had put more effort into the home front. That wish, drove him to work as hard as he could in his final years to make some impact on the lives of his people. For the last twelve years of his life, he had built seventeen public schools, ten homeless shelters, established three charities, organized five annual events for veterans and police, and constructed five children's homes. This last children's home was the biggest, and most expensive venture he had planned. He wanted it to represent the standard on which all future establishments to compare themselves to, it was why he picked the capital city for its location. To be the monarch to unveil this capstone of another monarch's life-long wish, was intimidating for Sola, doubly so as her father's shadow seemed ever so imposing as she thought about everything that was now on her shoulders. There was so much to live up to.

The cheers of the crowd roared louder, pulling Sola's attention to the Director who now looked at her with a wide smile on his face as he stepped back. It was her turn to speak. Standing tall, she walked forward, giving the director a kind nod as he bowed his head as she passed him. The crowed went quiet as she placed her paper on the podium and read over the opening line again. The typed paper was full of scribbles that she had marked up to help her remember key parts of the speech. Padme had always been a more natural speaker, her voice resonating powerfully and always knowing exactly where to pause for breath or speak slower. Speaking as not a talent Sola had and so she had always needed extra time to rehearse and mark up speeches. Looking out into the crowd, she watched the yellow and green banners wave in the breeze and took a deep breath to ground herself.

"Thank you, Director," She began. "My father always said that 'the solution to most problems, starts at home,' as a girl, I did not understand this. But as I stand before you now, I think we can all see the wisdom in those words. If we can not take care of our own children, the most vulnerable citizens of our country, how then can we be expected to help with the problems in the rest of the world? Charity, and the construction of facilities to provide aid is a small step towards solving the larger issues. But by building this home, to standards set my a monarch much wiser than I, I believe this is a step towards a brighter future for our youth and our nation."

Applause crescendoed through the street as Sola stepped back from the microphone towards the gates to the property where a red ribbon was tied between the two main posts of the gate. The mayor of the capital handed her a pair of golden scissors with which she took a moment to simply hold by the ribbon as the press took pictures before snapping them over the ribbon and officially opening the home to the public.

Bright colors radiating from the sun were slowly replaced by the cool blue-white glow of the moon as night settled over Naboo. The cool air was contrasted by the warmth from the fireplace as the orange flames crackled and popped. Padme was settled on the floor beside Anakin as they leaned against the couch, both of them huddled under the same blanket wrapped tightly around their shoulders. Her head was on his chest as his arm was resting around her shoulders, the tips of his fingers playing with her drying hair. The day had been wonderfully lazy. They spent it swimming in the lake and had tea and lunch on the terrace before returning to the water, not leaving until their fingers started to shrivel and the sun began its decent. It was then that they retired to the small sitting room they were in now, still clad in their bathing suits letting the fire warm them.

Padme leaned closer to Anakin, pressing her face to his chest, and sighing in content from the warmth that seemed to be almost constant with him. They hadn't said much since they settled down here, the silence somehow adding to the mood of the evening. It was strange for her to look back on the past few days, and think about all the pleasant feelings that seemed to accompany them. She'd had fun. She'd enjoyed being with him more than anything else. Part of her felt as if all of this was simply because it was a change from what her life normally was, that the feelings were nothing more than a fondness… but another part of her ached to be heard. A part that told her that her life would be empty without him. And to her surprise, she was finding that she agreed more with the latter. The thought of going back to the way things were didn't seem feasible to her anymore. The thought that after their week was done, he would go one way and her another, made her heart ache.

His lips touched her temple in a light kiss and she sighed. This was nice, so, so nice. She leaned in closer and pressed her lips lightly to his chest in appreciation for him. He shifted slightly and kissed her temple again, and then another kiss to her cheek. She returned the gesture with a kiss to his jaw, and he ducked a little lower to kiss the side of her neck once. Her breath hitched as she tensed for a moment, and he placed a second gentle kiss to her neck right over her pulse.

"Oh…" this felt… strange to her, but in a good way. Her chest tingled from the sensation and she could hear her pulse in her head as a shudder traveled down her spine as he kissed her pulse again. Unconsciously, she pulled him closer, and she felt him smile onto her throat as his breath wafted over the spots where his lips had been moments before.

Anakin pulled back slightly and met her eyes. They just sat there, staring intently at one another for a moment or two, as if reading one another. Padme could see a longing in his eyes, and a worry that she couldn't put words to at the moment. All she could focus on was the restrained look on his face, and how she simply wanted him to let go and show her exactly what he wanted because she knew that she wanted the same thing. Padme took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, wordlessly giving him permission to give in. He sighed into her as his lips parted for a second before he pulled back, "M-maybe we should—"

"No," She said, leaning back into him, "it's fine." She kissed him, again, and again, each caress of their lips encouraging them on. Her fingers pulled on the ends of his hair, drawing him closer, until sitting by his side made her crane a bit too far. But she wanted— needed to stay close to him, needed to keep her lips on him. Surprising him just as much as herself, she shifted herself into his lap. His hands rested lightly on her waist as his eyes raked over her with his mouth agape. Padme caressed his cheeks with the pads of her fingers as she touched her forehead to this.

He swallowed as he brought his eyes to meet hers. He licked his lips and let out a shaking breath. "Are… are you sure?" He asked.

Padme replied with a smile and leaned down to kiss along his jaw until she reached his ear. "Yes." She said.

And as if a switch had been flipped, any hesitation in his movements ceased as he gave in. His lips capturing hers, as his hands slid up and down her back sensually. Her neck craned back as he pressed soft kisses to her throat, her shoulder, her chest. Her body felt as if it were on fire as she felt his hands on the ties of the top of her bathing suit. He pulled back for a moment, their eyes meeting intensely as he once again silently asked her permission. He truly was so sweet. Her hands went to her back over his, and carefully pulled the tie, leaving no question of her desire as she let the fabric fall between them.

His cheeks lit up in a small blush as his eyes darted between her eyes and her breasts for several moments, seeming to be trying to be respectful, while also juggling the desire to simply stare. Eventually, he lost his internal battle as his eyes landed on her breasts and lingered. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed and from her vantage on his lap, she felt a twitch inside his pants, leaving no doubt the effect she had on him. His fingers trembled where they were on her back before he pulled his right hand along her side to her front, slowly raising it up to the underside of her breast. At first all she could feel were his fingertips, skimming the outline before he grew more bold and held her breast in his hand. He inhaled sharply as his back shuddered and he gave her breast a small squeeze once, twice, and then a third time accompanied by a flick of his thumb over her nipple.

"Oh…" Padme arched her back in pleasure as he lunged toward her, his lips latching to the flesh above her breast as he peppered kissed there before making a wet trail to her nipple. Her fingers carded through his hair as he eased her back on her back, settling between her legs. His eyes locked on hers as he flicked his tongue over her nipple, eliciting a hiss from her lips. He smirked as he repeated the action again, bringing his other hand up to treat her other breast with its touch. "Oh, Anakin…" She sighed.

He released her nipple with a pop before easing himself up towards her lips, kissing her deeply as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, her legs wrapping around the back of his knees. She wanted to be closer to him. She wanted him so badly… Padme ran her finger tips along his jaw as they pulled back and she traced her fingers along his lips. He kissed each of her fingertips in turn before he opened his mouth and spoke, "I… I've never…"

"Me neither," She admitted in a whisper. His eyes widened as he stared intently at her, before letting out a shuddered breath before leaning to kiss her again.

"I… I don't…," He voice caught in his throat as groaned lightly.

"It's alright," She assured him with gentle kisses.

Anakin shook his head and lifted himself up slightly, "No, what I mean is… I didn't plan— I don't have a… a c-condom…"

"Oh…" Now she understood. He blushed red as they stayed the way they were. She didn't have one either. It was clear what they both wanted, and one time wouldn't be that bad, would it? No, that wasn't a viable option. They could always wait. Go into town tomorrow morning, get some things at one of the shops, then come back here and pick up where they left off. But then she remembered. Sola.

Anakin eased back onto his knees and helped her to sit up as well. "We should probably wait…" He mumbled, his hand rising to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly as he shifted, visibly uncomfortable. But Padme had other plans.

She brought her hand to his cheek and guided his lips to hers, brushing them sweetly before pulling back a little. "We won't have to wait," She said, kissing him again. "I'll be right back." Climbing to her feet, she took the discarded blanket that had been around them a little while ago and threw it over her shoulders before hurrying towards her sister's room. Even though Sola hadn't been to the house in a little over a year, the room was still her sister's typical mess. The vanity was flooded with a mix of both full and empty containers of cosmetics, the brushes were laying on the glass surface as if the owner had left only a few minutes ago. The wardrobe lacked any sort of organization with dresses that were hanging on by one shoulder, or laying in a pile on the shelf floor. Padme rummaged through the contents of every drawer and box she could find, knowing that her sister had to have a box of condom's somewhere. She found almost everything else but what she was looking for. Old phone numbers from guys she had probably flirted with on one of their trips here were scattered on the desk, a pair of fuzzy handcuffs were in the drawer of the wardrobe, and the bedside table even had a dildo hidden under an assortment of books that she knew Sola had never once read. Padme muttered a curse under her breath, frustrated that it was starting to look like she and Anakin would have to delay until tomorrow. But one last look through the over-stuffed dresser in the back of the room, had her grinning widely as she looked at the small cardboard box of condoms. Yes! Satisfied with her find, she hurried back to the sitting room where Anakin was waiting for her.

He was seated almost exactly the way he had been when she had left, though his hands were now resting in his lap, trying to hide the obvious tent in his shorts. The light glow from the fireplace cast dark shadows across his face, though not nearly dark enough to hide the small blush on his cheeks. His brow raised slightly as she rejoined him, falling to her knees in front of him and kissing his lips as she leaned into him. He practically melted into her as his hands found her waist, and she easily moved in, straddling his lap as she gently pressed the box of condoms in her hand to his chest. Anakin pulled back from the kiss, and reached for the box. He took a moment to read the label before he grinned widely and eagerly pulled her face back to his, kissing every inch of skin he could find. She giggled as he tugged the blanket from her shoulders and kissed down her clavicle, her hands twining in his hair in encouragement. He nipped lightly at her breast before flicking his tongue over her nipple and she sighed as she slid one had lower down his chest to the waistband of his shorts, and even lower still. He let out a gasp as she ran her palm over the bulge, and she smirked as he jerked his hips involuntarily against her.

"Padme…" His rough voice sent currents of electricity down her spine, her core clenching in anticipation.

Without warning he brought his face back to hers, kissing deeply as he lunged up onto his knees, his strong hands holding the backs of her thighs tightly so she wouldn't fall. Padme held onto his neck as he carefully laid her back down on the rug. His hands moved teasingly slowly as they slid down her sides with purpose. Padme allowed her hands to mimic his, as she slowly wrapped her arms around his back and slid down towards his trunks.

He tugged lightly on the bottom half of her bathing suit, carefully easing the material down her legs until she managed to slide one leg free, and left it dangling around her other leg, leaving her bare before him. The natural instinct for modesty made her want to cover up, but anticipation for what was to come outweighed instinct as she held tightly to the waistband of his trunks and started to tug them down over his firm buttocks. She felt him smile against her neck as he raised his body up higher and moved his hands to pull the drawstring free to assist in her pursuit. Once undone, the shorts fell away tantalizingly slowly before he reluctantly pulled away to completely rid himself of his clothes. Padme shivered, but whether it was from the cool breeze that drifted between their heated bodies or from the apprizing look in his eyes, she didn't know. She didn't care either.

The corner of his lips twitched up into a small smile as he leaned back over her and brought his lips to hers. "You're so beautiful," He said, his words unwavering, conveying what could only be perceived as truth as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, his fingers playing with the ends of her hair. "So beautiful," He said again.

"Anakin…" She gripped his hair tightly as she ran her fingers through his hair, finding purchase on the top of his head and the back of his neck.

He groaned as he rolled back onto his heels, bringing her with him. She gasped, her nails digging into his scalp as she held onto him but he didn't even seem to notice as he settled back in a seated position with her in his lap.

She felt something twitch by her thigh, it was firm and hot and as she shifted, against it, she could feel Anakin shudder. Padme blushed as they broke from the kiss. She took a shy glance between them and eyed the stiff erection sprouting from a trimmed nest of blonde hair between his legs. His shoulders felt tense as she looked back at his eyes. The deep blue held her gaze, as if searching for her approval. Padme swallowed and returned her gaze to his cock. She had an idea of how to pleasure a man, but inexperience made her hesitant. Shyly, she reached out and just touched him to start with. Her hand had barely wrapped around the head of his cock before he shuddered, giving her the confirmation that she was on the right track. Slowly she stroked him, sliding from tip to base, and back.

"Harder…" He whispered, his eyes closed and his nostrils flaring.

She did as she was asked and squeezed him tighter as she continued stroking him, adding a light twisting motion as she reached the tip. With a shuddering groan, he lurched forward and took her lips in a passionate kiss as his right hand grasped her breast. The action caught her off guard enough that she stopped her ministrations as she returned his kiss and let out a startled cry when he pinched her nipple before she came to her senses and returned to her task. It felt strange to do this, but in a good way. His left hand wrapped around her backside and gave her cheek a gentle squeeze that made her core clench.

His hand tightened its grip on her backside as he pulled her closer. He pulled back from her as she felt her center touch the base of his cock and he let out a hiss as he glanced down to where they were touching, she continued to stroke him slowly as she watched him shyly. The corners of his lips curled as he let go of her breast and with shaking fingers he slid his fingers down towards her center. His fingers brushed gently across the tips of the short fine hairs there before coating themselves in her wetness and trailing past her lips. She jumped as he brushed against the small bundle of nerves hidden there, and he glanced up at her. Their eyes focused on one another as they slowly pleasured one another with their hands. Padme let her eyes fall shut as his fingers moved. They were a little jerky, and sometimes they missed the places she wanted him to touch, the movements screamed inexperience, but regardless, somehow there was just something more to it than what she could achieve on her own. She wanted him to feel the same, and so she doubled her efforts.

"Oh, God… Padme…" His voice sounded hoarse as his thighs trembled under her. He bit his lip hard as he hummed low in his throat. She smiled in satisfaction and leaned forward to press light kisses along his neck.

Anakin hissed before roughly pulling her hand away from him. "No…" He said through clenched teeth. "Not… not yet…" his eyes opened and he brought both of his hands to her neck, lightly stroking her skin as he leaned in to give her a soft kiss on her lip. For this moment, the passion and lust subsided, dimming as they took the simple pleasure of their skin touching. After a few moments passed, he returned his hand to her center, where he started to reignite things slowly. She felt his cock twitch against her and he let out a strained groan. Reaching out, she took him in her hand again, intent on bringing him pleasure, but his hand stopped her again. "No," He said again. "I want— I need to last." He said. She didn't fully understand exactly was his meaning was, but she accepted it nonetheless, and let him do what he felt that he needed.

He touched her with a deep furrow in his brow as he seemed to try and figure out what brought her the most pleasure, what she liked, what she didn't… he was very attentive in his ministrations. He watched her as he slid a finger inside her, his eyes focusing on her with such intensity it made her shudder. He slid his fingers in and out, adding a second finger once she was adjusted, and doing what he could to make her more comfortable. Anakin leaned in and kissed her brow, and her cheeks as he withdrew his fingers and pulled her close enough that she could feel the full length and girth of his cock. She tensed in anticipation and a little bit of worry as she felt how large he was. He swallowed as he carefully brushed a lock of her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. He looked just as worried as she felt and knew he was doing what he could to make her comfortable with it.

"It… It'll hurt at first," He started. "But I… If you need me to stop… I'll stop."

Padme smiled at him and ran her fingers through his hair before giving him a short nod of consent.

Squaring his shoulders, he reached for the box of condoms and pulled one out before rolling it over himself, giving his cock a firm tuck before wrapping his arms around her waist. Padme gripped his shoulders as he lifted her up until she felt the head of his cock between her folds. She sunk down on him with a pained hiss, stopping once he was halfway in. Anakin kissed her shoulder, her neck, whispering sweet nothings as his hands moved up and down her back, and sides in an effort to sooth her. She braced herself on him before gave one final downward thrust and cried out as he filled her completely. Padme burred her face in his shoulder as he held her tightly, his body stiff as he resisted moving inside her, whispering words along the slope of her neck as she adjusted to him.

After a few moments she felt herself relax, and shifted slightly in his lap. It felt strange to have him inside her, but at the same time, it felt as though he was close to… something. Something that would feel so good if she could get him there. She slowly rose a few inches and then rocked back down over him. Her eyes closed as he rocked up to meet her. Their movements were jolty, uneven and lacking semblance or rhythm as they slowly worked to find a balance. She took his face in her hands and brought his lips to hers in a heated kiss as he gripped her hips to help guide her movements. Padme wrapped her legs around his waist and whimpered as his cock drove deeper inside her. She kissed him again, and again as her hands carded through his hair and he rocked into her faster, determined to chase the pleasure that she was sure he felt as well.

With sudden force, he rolled her back onto the rug as he hovered over her, his hips never stuttering as he rocked into her. "Oh, Anakin, oh, yes, yes, yes!" Her nails raked down his back as his hand gripped the back of her thigh tightly, pulling it up high on his hip, allowing him to deliver thrust after earth shattering thrust. It was perfect. Without warning she felt something burst inside her. Her back arched as she felt her walls spasm around him and yet still he did not stop, not until the last few jerking thrusts and she felt his cock twitch sporadically inside her, emptying himself into the condom.

Anakin's shoulder shook as muscles rippled beneath his skin before he collapsed on top of her, his breath just as shallow and harsh as her own. Padme traced invisible patterns along his back as he lifted his head with some difficulty. He gave her a lopsided smile before leaning towards her and kissing her lips languidly. She could have stayed like that for eternity.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

She was sore when she woke up. It felt similar to the day after a hard ride on one of the more stubborn horses at the Royal Stables and yet… it felt like so much more than just tired muscles. Her cheeks blushed as she felt a fluttering in her chest as she recalled last night. She snuggled deeper into the pillow on her bed. Bed… when had she… she couldn't remember making it back to her bedroom. Her eyes slowly opened and watched as the familiar sheer white drapes danced in the morning breeze. Padme sat up slowly, pulling the comforter around her naked body as she looked around the room. Anakin wasn't in the bed beside her, and yet the other side of the bed clearly looked as if one had slept there. The pillow had long since gone cold but his scent remained. The door leading to terrace that was normally closed stood wide open.

Padme stretched as she rolled out of bed, pulling on a blue woven robe with bronze patterned seams along the shoulders and sleeves before heading through the open door. She found him in the center of the terrace, sitting on a metal garden chair clad in a loose pair of pants. His body was hunched over his knees as he whittled with a carving knife and a piece of pale wood. He didn't seem to notice her as she approached and watched as he was so deeply focused on his task of carving designs into the wood. She didn't recognize any of the markings, or what exactly he was making, but it was amazing to watch him work. The way his brow crinkled as he carefully sliced a chunk of wood from the side, or how he slowly ran his thumbs over the edges to brush away the small sprigs of wood that stubbornly clung to the piece. God he was beautiful.

Unable to help herself, she closed the distance between them and placed her hands gently on his shoulders and slid them down his chest and then wrapped them around his neck as she leaned her head against his. Padme felt him smile as she placed a light kiss to his cheek. "What're you working on?" She asked.

He looked back down at the small piece of wood in his hands and blew the dust out of one of the patterns he had finished before taking a thin strip of leather and fed it through a hole he had made in the top of the hourglass shape. He tied the two ends of leather into a tight knot before holding it up for her inspection. "I… I made this for you," He said, turning his body party to look at her. Padme took it in her hand and traced the lines that led from the corners towards the center where a square was carved. "The markings are from an impression my mom saw when she was working in Tunisia," He said. "The original piece was made of gold, not wood. But… it was rumored to have been a gift from a wiseman from a far away land to grant good fortune to whoever wore it." He bit his lip as he gave a small shrug, "I'm not exactly a master carpenter but—"

"It's beautiful," Padme cut him off, leaning down to kiss him lightly. He sighed into the kiss and before she could pull away, he coaxed her into another kiss, and then another, and another. "Anakin…" She laughed.

"One more," He said, kissing her for a final time and taking her hand in his. "Things are going to be so dull when I have to go back to Coruscant."

Padme scoffed and stood back to her normal height, "Doubt it'll be as dull as what I go back to." Anakin followed suit and stood up with her. "Theres a state dinner with officials from Sweden and Denmark in three days, so that means once we get back, I need to go to fittings for an evening gown, meet with a few tutors to brush up on my Swedish and Danish skills, not to mention memorizing names and faces, and current events for each country."

Anakin stared blankly at her and shook his head, "I can see why your sister would need to know that stuff…" He started. "But, why do you need to do all that work?"

"Because people are complicated and sometimes other members of the family need to step in to serve the needs of the monarch and the country," She answered. "Not to mention it just makes conversations more interesting especially since there are some things we just don't talk about during these formal functions."

He nodded slowly in understanding but still let out an exhausted sigh, "I can't imagine how I would manage doing that kind of stuff as often as you," He remarked.

"You work for an ambassador."

He smiled, "Yes, and most of the time it is a simple nine-to-five deal. I've only been to a handful of formal events and most of the time I'm just there to take notes and keep my boss on schedule. No one _ever_ talks to me."

"I did."

Anakin hummed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Yes, you did. And I'm pretty sure I'm due for a promotion when I get back."

"And why's that?"

He shrugged, "Well, I was of a mind that relations between Coruscant and Naboo were… greatly improved by our… negotiations."

"Were you now?" She asked, her arms sliding up his chest to wrap around his neck. "Because I was thinking that… while great strides were made… they left me a little… underwhelmed.?"

His eyes went wide as his jaw dropped, incredulous of her claim. "Seriously!?"

She gave a half shrug and tilted her head slightly. "Unless I was misunderstanding. In that case… maybe it would do us well to… go over it again."

Anakin let out a growl as his hands slid down her thighs and hoisted her up, allowing her legs to wrap around his waist. His lips found hers as he kissed her once again. "I'll go over it as many times as you need." Their lips clashed together, as she sighed into him and he carried her all the way back into her bedroom.

* * *

This was ridiculous. How is it that even as a grown adult, with the power of a Queen, Sola still found herself intimidated whenever her mother called her in for a private lunch? Seated across from one another in her mother's private dining room, not a word passed between them as the elder of the two flipped through the pages of one newspaper, and then another. That was never a good sign. "Wasn't it in 1458 when the law permitted defense attorneys to be present during interrogations?" Sola asked.

"52, actually. Why'd you want to know that?" Her mother asked.

She shrugged, "Because I'm not really sure why I'm here."

"You're here for lunch." She answered. "And I wanted to commend you on your opening of the children's home. You composed yourself very well… your father would have been proud."

Sola beamed at the high praise and smiled.

Her mother glanced back down at the newspapers and sighed. "However," She started, folding the paper in half and passing it over to allow her to read the article. "It seems not everyone is singing you praise." In the middle of the page just under the article on the children's home, was a critical response to the operation. It featured an interview with one Darred Janren. "It seems he is of the opinion that the contracted work was shoddy and on the verge of being condemned within a year."

Sola shook her head and dropped the paper on the table. "Well, he's one person. And I have assurance from the contractors that only the best was used for the construction." What was it with this guy and trying to ruin all her hard work? And all this just because she turned down his offer. Ridiculous.

Her mother shook her head, "He's spoken with reporters from three major papers, as well as a handful of magazines," She said. "It hasn't reached the major news stations. Yet. So, my advise is to contain it."

"Contain it?"

She nodded, "Yes. Keep it from becoming big news. Find a way to appease him and those who agree with him so that this story dies. Right now, people are proud of the completion of your father's last great work. We cannot let that turn into questions of your role in the construction, or worse, your father's."

Sola nodded and looked down at the paper where the article title seemed to glare at her. "So, you'd have me reach out to this guy and figure out what will make him shut up?"

Her mother shrugged, "Maybe be a bit more eloquent in the request, but ultimately, yes." She said. "Think of this as an early lesson," She started. "Not everyone will like you, and for most of them you can just ignore the critics. But every once in awhile, you will need to find a way to get ahead of them and prove that their claims are utterly false."

She sighed and nodded, "I'll have my staff reach out to him and arrange for him to visit the palace then." She was not looking forward to this.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

One of the benefits of being in the Royal family is having access to several estates that range from the majestic and noble Royal Palace which has acted as the main royal residence since the very early days of the monarchy, as well as the more… martial fortress of Gallo Castle in the mountain regions of the country. It is this estate for which Sola chose to meet with the Peevish architect. Part of her hoped that the long trek to the castle would put him off and he would refuse… but she knew that was highly unlikely. In any case, the castle itself was an intimidating thing in itself. Built to withstand a siege, and once housing an arsenal that would have blasted away any army; now it mainly serves as a training ground for the Royal Guards.

The car carrying Mister Janren pulled up slowly at exactly the right time. The guards were in the middle of a shift change and so the number of uniformed soldiers on the premises was double what it normally was. Even from the third story, she could read the look of startled surprise on his face as he quickly moved out of the way of a squad of soldiers marching across the driveway. She carefully hid her smile as she made her way to her office where he would be brought momentarily. Sitting in the leatherback chair, she put on a show of reading through some of the papers that had been brought to her earlier in the morning. Most of it was notes from the ministers in government and very little of it held her interest for long, but she felt that she needed to look busy and show this man that there were more pressing things that she could be worrying about instead of tending to his ego.

The door to the office opened, and a servant announced Janren's arrival. The architect walked in, his eyes looking over every detail of the room before directing his gaze on her. He bowed his head, "Your Majesty," He said.

"Mister Janren," Sola returned, gesturing for him to take a seat. She put her papers down and folded her hands over her desk, cutting a figure she hoped was intimidating. "I understand you still have a problem with how I handled the construction of the children's house."

He nodded, "Yes, I do. Lott Dod is a liar and a crook. I know he hasn't built those kids a home that will last."

"That is a strong claim," Sola said through gritted teeth, "Do you have any proof."

Mister Janren visibly stiffened as he took a slow breath, "I used to work for them."

That made sense… the man's grudge was not with her, but with his former employee. It seemed that it was just her luck that she would get dragged down with them. Collateral damage perhaps.

Mister Janren continued, "I was to build a small office building for a start up company based in Keren. They sent me third-rate materials and when I told them that I needed something better to make it last, they shot me down." He shook his head and sighed, "I did what I could with what they gave me. But after two years, the building caught fire. Ten people were killed." His eyes met hers as he leaned forward and pointed a finger, "What they did to that building is the same thing they did to your children's home. I don't want something like that to happen again."

There was something poignant in the way he spoke. It was clear he had regrets about what had happened in that building, something that seemed to be the root of this conflict between them and that made her feel something she had not expected to feel herself. Regret. Regret for brushing his initial concerns off, regret for not being more sympathetic. Her father once said that a good ruler can read people. A good ruler can know if there is something more driving a person, and will know how to respond. Sola had not known any of that when it came to Darred Janren. Too quick to turn him away, too stubborn to see beyond his blunt words… she had not thought to ask more questions, or even look into things herself.

Now knowing the depth of his animosity for Lott Dod, she could see there may be a sliver of truth to what she had ignored. And while she still clung to the hope that maybe he was wrong, a gut feeling told her that it might be too good to be true. Sola clenched her hands tightly as she took a moment to compose herself. "What do you suggest?" She asked. "Closing it would be a field day for the press, and if you are right, there is no guarantee that anyone would trust my word on its safety for a second time."

He thought about it for a moment, "I can send an inspector over and have it be on paper that he's checking for an unusual power fluctuation in the breakers. That would give him access to the basement where the foundation would be at its weakest."

She nodded twice as she wrung her hands. "And if it is… under code… what then?"

He said nothing but his eyes betrayed his silence. It would be bad. "I'll have a better idea once I know how bad the foundation is."

With the meeting concluded, Sola dismissed him and sat alone in her office as she thought over everything. The eyes in one of the photographs on her desk caught her attention. The deep brown eyes of her father. Proud eyes that shown with a deep love of family and country. She could only imagine what he'd say to her now, and none of it was flattering. At the moment, she felt as though she were the farthest thing from the Queen she was born to be. Right now, she felt as though she were a failure to her father's legacy.

* * *

Their feet dangled over the edge of the stone pier on the edge of the lake house. Her toes just barely grazed over the surface of the water while his could submerge just past his ankles. He'd playfully kicked water in her direction a few times as they leaned against one another as they waited for Paddy to retrieve the boat from the boathouse. It shouldn't be much longer before they are back on a train bound for Theed and a return to her normal life and the selfish part of her wanted to delay it as long as possible. Unconsciously, her hold on Anakin's hand tightened and he responded by bringing her hand to his lips and kissing each of her knuckles with affection.

"You know, I could come back as soon as next month…" he said.

Padme shook her head, "No, I can't ask you to do that…"

He gave a shrug, "It wouldn't be a problem. I'm known to disappear a day or two after a weekend of heavy drinking with friends." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and leaned in close to her ear, kissing it lightly as he whispered, "A clandestine rendezvous with a foreign princess doesn't seem like that much of a stretch."

Padme laughed and jabbed his ribs with her elbow as she shook her head at him. "You're ridiculous."

"You love it."

She did. She really did.

The water splashed higher on the pier as Paddy came into view rowing the boat in their direction. Adeptly, he stabbed one of the long oars into the water, securing it in the sediment underwater as he carefully spun the boat around so that it could be backed in along by where they were sitting. Anakin helped Padme stand before helping Paddy secure the boat to the pier.

The older man tipped his sunhat at them both and smiled as he climbed up. "Everything to your liking?" He asked.

"Absolutely," Padme answered, taking the man's hands in hers. "You've always taken such good care of this place."

He waved off her praise, "Oh, please, the place practically takes care of itself! All I care about is that you leave here feeling better than you did when you arrived." He said, he hunched over and stared deeply into her eyes and scanned the rest of her face and posture before standing tall with a proud smile on his face. "And it looks like you are! You don't have that mopey look on your face that makes you look like an angry old man!"

Anakin let out a bark of laughter that he quickly covered with his hand once he saw she directed her eyes at him. Padme turned back to Paddy and shook her head. He was the only one who could get away with talking to anyone in her family like that.

The old man laughed and walked behind her to pick up their luggage and loaded them in the boat, "Best we get you two back. Your decoy is good but she is no replacement for the original."

* * *

There was a weight that loomed over both of them as they made their way back to the capital and the closer they got, the heavier it seemed to grow. Padme rested her head on Anakin's shoulder on the train, seeking what comfort she could from him as every second brought them closer to their separation. He whispered sweet nothings to her and kissed the crown of her head, but none of it made her feel better about returning. From the moment her feet touch the ground in the train station, she will have to quickly seek out her escort back to the palace, and from there, her work as Princess resumes. And as for Anakin, he's supposed to be taken straight to the airport by another albeit not needing the desecration that her party will use. It meant that this train ride would be the last place they would see each other until they both have the time to arrange some kind of meeting.

The train whistle blew as it pulled away from the station. The next stop was theirs, which meant this was time to say goodbye. Padme picked her head up and looked up at Anakin's eyes just as the realization dawned on him as well. He gave her a sad smile as he brushed the backs of his knuckles along her cheek before leaning in to kiss her. Padme savored every second of it, breathing him in as she molded her mouth to his, and memorized every inch of him she could. Her hands ran along the back of his neck, twined her fingers in his hair, ran one hand down along the broad expanse of his chest. She leaned into his hands as he held her close to him, his grip a little tight on her waist, and yet gentle as they skimmed along her back. No words were exchanged between them. There wasn't a lot of time left for words and so, they simply stayed locked together, prolonging the inevitable as long as they could.

Another blow of the whistle announced their approach and, reluctantly they pulled back as the train pulled into the station. Anakin ran his thumb along her cheek and he gave her one more light kiss before resting his forehead against hers. Around them they could hear the other cabins begin to empty themselves of passengers, but neither of them seemed to care. "I love you…" He whispered against her lips. And she couldn't help but to kiss him again, returning the sentiment between kisses. Outside, she heard the conductor shouting directions to other platforms, and they both sighed, neither wanting to draw too much attention. Pulling apart, they both grabbed their belongings and made their way out to the platform. They walked side by side until she caught sight of Typho and Dorme standing in the main hall trying to look inconspicuous as they waited for her. At the other side of the hall, she saw another Royal Security officer dressed as a valet carrying a sign with "SKYWALKER" written in big bold letters.

This was it. Standing at the edge of the main hall that would push them in opposite directions. Padme and Anakin stood face to face and held each others hands. Anakin gave her a gentle squeeze and forced a smile to his face. "I will see you again," He said, before releasing her hand and walking away from her towards the security officer that was to be his valet.

I will see you again… not… goodbye. It was such a small thing to say, and yet there was a sincere promise in them. Padme smiled as she watched him leave, hopeful that again would not be too long a wait.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The building inspection was completed early in the morning before anyone in the palace was even awake. Sola had been in such a deep sleep that her aid had practically pushed her out of bed to get her attention. Darred had already arrived at the palace with the report and was eagerly awaiting to meet with her. And as she brushed the sleep from her eyes, she hastily threw on a pair of slacks, and a button down shirt rather than dealing with the dress she was going to wear later in her afternoon meetings. This was one interaction in which time was of the essence.

Sola made her way down the halls towards the sitting room Darred had been instructed to wait in. She walked so fast that she easily out paced the herald whose job it was to announce her when she arrived. She even ignored the doormen who would open the doors for her, instead grabbing the handles before they could and swung them open with more strength than she intended, the wood slamming against the walls and sending a loud echoing reverberation through the room that shook the glass chandelier overhead. Darred had jumped at the sound and whipped around to face her.

"Your—"

"No need for that,—" She cut him off and walked around to sit on one of the plush chairs as the doormen closed the door to give them privacy. Sola smoothed out the leg of her pants as she gestured for him to sit on the couch next to hers. "Please, let's just get down to business."

He nodded and sat down where she directed him and opened his bag to pull out a decently sized file and placed it on the coffee table before her. "I went over it on the way here," He explained. "The exterior materials are up to code and utilizes bricks that passed inspection. "The cement holding them is of good quality as well, even if a little on the thin side, it still meets code."

Sola nodded, "So, does that mean… it's alright?" It all sounded good from what she could understand. For him to start on such positive notes, it had to be a good thing, right? One look at his face, and what hope she had crumbled.

"Afraid not." He turned the pages until he found the part of the report he was looking for. "The foundation is not nearly at a depth that can support the weight of the building. And instead of using rebar to support the higher floors, they opted to use low quality wood." He pulled out a few photographs of the wood supports and pointed at several sections where the wood was already splintering. "The wood is not thick enough to be structurally safe and it is also already fracturing."

It wasn't safe. That much was clear to her. She made a horrible mistake trusting Lott Dod and his low figures. And now she had to fix it and she would fix it no matter the financial cost of the project. "Thank you, Mr. Janren," She said. "Your persistence has been… remarkable. I can't even think about what might have happened if you hadn't brought this to my attention."

He gave a small smile, "It isn't over yet. You still need someone to fix it. And you need to get everyone out of there pretty fast."

He was right. But there are some things that needed to be handled delicately. This was one of them. "I know. And so long as this is a problem, I kindly ask that you not mention any of this to anyone until the crisis is over." She gave a small smile, "We don't want to cause a panic."

Dared raised a brow at her, "Those kids need to get out of that house. I think that alone will cause some kind of panic."

She shook her head, "Not if we take care of this in small pieces."

His eyes narrowed at her, "You mean cover it up," He said. "You made a mistake but you don't want any one to know about it."

"It's not a cover up."

"Not telling the people the truth is a cover up."

Sola stood up, "I believe you've done what you came to do, Mr. Janren." She spoke loud enough that the steward on the other side heard her and entered. He waited by the door with his hands folded in front of him, patiently waiting to lead the visitor out.

Darred shook his head at her and turned and left, not even bowing his head as he was required to. Sola didn't care. Right now, she had more important things to worry about.

Grabbing the file, she tucked it under her arm and left the room through the side door and walked down the hall in the general direction of her office. One of her secretaries fell into step behind her. "Move some of my appointments today around. And get me the representative of the Royal Engineers Corps as soon as they are available. As well as my public relations advisor," She ordered, paying them little mind as they rushed off to do as she asked.

Stepping into her office, she laid the file down on the desk and began to sift through the mass of reports and photographs. The foundation was only one of the problems. Among others, were problems with electrical wiring, locations of gaslines, water filters… the entire thing was a mess. Near the back, were a list of recommendations from the inspector with notes written in the margin that must have been added by Darred. The list was long, but the agreed overall best outcome was demolition.

Her heart fell as she ran through the scenario in her head. She could see the headlines "CHILDREN'S HOME CONDEMNED!" "QUEEN FAILS TO INSPECT HOME!" "QUEEN ENDANGERS CHILDREN!" Nightmares. All of them. She knows there has to be a way to fix this without drawing too much attention. There just has to be.

Hours passed slowly as she went through page after page, consulted with advisors she trusted to keep things quiet, as they worked to come up with a plan. So far, the plan was just a rough outline that required a tremendous amount of revisions, but it was still more than what she'd had in the morning. Tomorrow she could work on finalizing a plan, and then the day after begin the implementation. But for now, she wanted to put all of it out of her mind as she made her way to dinner with her mother and sister. The moment she was free to, Sola had kicked off her shoes and didn't care where she left them, knowing that someone would come across them and return them later. She didn't want to think, didn't want to worry about anything any more. Padding along the halls of the residence, she tried to push her focus onto more care free matters but nothing came to mind.

Since the disaster that was the children's home became a strong possibility, her mind had been so preoccupied that she'd barely taken more than a passing glance at the gossip magazines that she enjoyed and she had been too exhausted to even watch her favorite programs on the television at night. Worry over a disaster that had yet to happen consumed her so much so that she felt it was impossible to relax. But maybe… Sola smiled as she remembered where exactly her sister had been these past few days. Perhaps dinner would be a distraction all on its own.

Sola walked through the doors to the small family dining room where her mother and sister were already seated engrossed in a conversation about their mother's recent engagement at the veterans hospital. Padme eagerly listened to some of the grievances that had been mentioned at the event, and gave a few small recommendations that may help. A small adjustment in budget to increase pensions, donations to research medical interventions to improve quality of life… Sola shook her head as she took her seat. Her sister was acting as if she hadn't just been on a romantic get away with a hot stud. That had to change.

She let out a loud yawn as she stretched her arms high over her head. "I've had enough talk about work," She said as she rolled her neck. "I haven't seen or heard from you for days, sis! I need details."

Padme laughed, "Details?"

She groaned, "Yes details! Hey, I always told you about my dates. Now dear sister it is your turn to spill." Sola leaned forward on the table and directed her full focus on Padme to compel her into speaking. She really needed the distraction.

Padme glanced between her sister and mother, who looked at least mildly intrigued albeit hidden behind a practiced mask. With a slow breath, she shook her head. "You know, there really isn't much to tell…"

"Oh, please! You two were having eye sex way before you even left! Don't tell me you didn't even try the real thing."

"Sola!" Padme scolded, her cheeks flushed as she looked between her sister and her mother again.

The older woman gave a dismissive wave. "Oh, Padme, I was young once too," She said giving a knowing smile. "I know what happens between a handsome young man and a beautiful woman."

Padme groaned and buried her face in her hands. "You're not helping, Mother!"

The arrival of dinner gave her poor younger sister a small reprieve as the servants brought them roast duck and collard greens with sliced potatoes dressed in a cheese sauce and herbs. The table remained quiet while the servants laid out the spread before them and make sure that everyone had everything they needed before standing in a line at the side of the table and gave a small bow of their heads in unison before departing out the doors.

Sola served herself a nice duck leg and scooped a heathy amount of potatoes on her plate before sucking some of the grease off her thumb and starting the conversation back up with her sister once more. "If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to give us all the details, but just give us… something," She said.

Padme looked down at her plate before rolling her eyes, "Fine," She said reluctantly, as she poked at her food. "We… went shopping, swimming, we talked a lot, and spent the evening watching the sunset."

Sola rotated her hand in a coaxing motion, "And?"

"And what?"

Sola wanted to scream at her sister. She wasn't just asking about what they did. A weekend spent doing fun activities was one thing, but enjoying them, and enjoying the person you're with is another. She had a feeling about this guy. A really good feeling. The attraction between him and her sister was so obvious and the days they had spent together was the perfect opportunity for them to figure out if there was more than just the physical attraction between them. Padme had to realize that. "Come on! Was it nice? Did you have fun? Was it romantic? What's he like? Give me something!"

A forlorn smile crossed her face as she gave a small nod. "Yeah… it was… very, very nice."

The eager smile on Sola's face fell as she watched her sister carefully. "What is it?"

Padme shook her head. "I like him." She said it as if it were a bad thing. "I really like him."

"Oh, sweetie, you're in love!" Sola smiled as she rose from her seat and embraced her young sister. "I'm so happy for you!" She pulled back and held her at arms length and frowned as she watched the sad look on her sister's face carefully. This didn't make sense. "Why are you upset?"

Padme shook her head, "It'll never work."

"You don't know that."

"But I do," She said. "You might not have paid much attention to our tutors, but I did." Sola still did not understand, and so waited for Padme to explain. "The Marriage Law of 1920. No royal shall marry nor be romantically involved with a member of a foreign family of the same class, nor one subservient to a foreign power."

"Padme…"

"The law is clear. I figured, maybe getting him out of my system would be enough to let me move on… but, it's only made it worse." Padme looked across the table to their mother, "What do I do?"

Sola looked at her too, hoping their mother had some idea about what can be done so that her sister could be happy. The older woman closed her eyes as she did when she was in deep thought. Silence filled the room as they waited patiently for answers. The chime on the clock dinged, and their mother bowed her head and shook it slowly before looking at both her daughters with a sad look on her face. "There isn't much we can do," She said. "You can ask him to leave his work—"

"I can't do that," Padme answered.

Their mother nodded, "Then, all you can do is step down from your duties, and renounce your titles."

Both girls' faces fell at the only options available. That couldn't be it. There had to be other options. This was her sister they were talking about! Her happiness! It wasn't like she was having an affair with a criminal. It wasn't fair!

The doors to the dining room flew open as one of Sola's handmaids briskly approached her. She stood up when she came to her side and waited for what the girl had to say. "Majesty," She began before leaning close to whisper in her ear. "You have a call from the director of the children's home."


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

When they were younger, both Padme and Sola had been under the careful instruction of the experts of the laws of Naboo. They had studied the constitution every day until they could recite it by memory, they learned about the laws of past and present, and studied how policy and laws are made and repealed. Out of the two of them, Padme had been the most studious. Which was why she found herself sitting at her desk late at night with a large old tome that contained the laws passed after World War I laying open on her desk. She understood why the Marriage Law of 1920 came to be. Before the Great War, marriage between royals was common. A means of ensuring alliances, and strengthening family holdings. The law ended that practice so as to ensure that the Royal family had no external motivations when it came to international conflicts. And while the law does not have anything specific on dating in its text, the inclusion of it can easily be inferred by a modern audience.

At the moment, she didn't exactly know where this thing with Anakin was going, but she liked it. And she wanted to ride it to its conclusion— wherever that would be. She knew there was always the chance that this thing would end at some point, but there was also the chance that things could get more serious. And Padme was a planner. She thought things through to every possible conclusion she could and while for the moment, she could be content with secret get aways with Anakin, she knew that could not continue forever. If this did continue, they would have to find a way to be seen together in public. And if by some chance they were spotted before they were ready, she had to have a defense prepared. The law was a huge problem for that.

The door to her bedroom opened as her friend and decoy Sabe entered. She gave her a kind smile as the other girl extended a cell phone to her. The phone was vibrating with a call and Padme quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey," Anakin's voice came through from the other side. He sounded tired, yet relaxed.

"Hi," She returned, unable to help the smile his voice brought to her face.

"Sorry I didn't call yesterday," He said. "I wanted to but Ben called me in because he wanted to make sure that everyone understood how he was going to do things now that Qui-Gon's retirement has started." He laughed, "It was the most brutally dull thing I've ever been through."

"Poor you," She said as she closed the book and turned out the desk light before going over to sit on her bed. She sat on top of the soft duvet with her legs tucked under her chin. "At this point I'm just glad you called."

"About that…" He started, "Did that guy have to give the whole, 'if you lose this phone, you die' speech? It kinda freaked me out and I'm pretty sure it was one of the reasons I had to go through extra screenings at the airport security check point."

Panaka… Padme shook her head. He was a great security officer, but he was much too serious. All she asked when they returned was that he be given a secure line so that they could talk. Security around the royal family's phones was extremely tight and it wasn't like she could just give him a phone number he could put into his phone. Hers didn't work like that. "Yeah, sorry about that," She laughed. "He's just… being protective."

"Yeah, well I got the feeling that he doesn't really like me."

"He doesn't really like anyone who isn't my family. He's very loyal."

"Hmmm…" She could hear rustling on the other side but she wasn't sure what from.

"Where are you right now?" She asked.

"In bed," He said. "I miss you."

Padme smiled as she shifted to lay down, her phone tucked against her ear. "It hasn't been that long," She said.

"I still miss you," She could just picture that playful crooked smile of his as he spoke.

Padme sighed as she shook her head, "I miss you too," She admitted. From what she knew about his home, he lived alone. His friends were fairly close but not on hand at all times like her handmaidens. She wondered if he had even seen his friends since he returned. "Tell me about your place." She asked.

He breathed deep as he let out a relaxed breath, "Well… it's a standard one-bedroom apartment in Coruscant. I live above this small local convenience store that sells a little bit of everything except a decent beer," He said with a laugh. "I got some pictures on the walls of my mom and some of my friends. I also got a few posters. Nothing really special."

Padme hummed as she listened to him describe his home. She could just imagine what it probably looked like. If his organization (or lack there of) from their stay at the lake house was any indication, he probably kept his dirty clothes in a pile in the corner, the nightstand would have a few empty water bottles, and the wardrobe would just be a disorganized mess with clothes poking out preventing it from closing. He swore that there was a system to the madness but her eye just could not fathom it.

"What about you? Did you have to go to that dinner thing tonight?"

She smiled, "You mean the dinner at the King's Conservatory. That's two days from now. Dinner tonight was just me and my family." Her thoughts drifted back to the conversation that had occurred at dinner and she frowned as she looked back at the books on her desk.

"What's wrong?" Anakin asked. "You sounded upset there for a moment." She could hear his concern in his voice, but she remained quiet as her mind raced to find an answer.

"It's nothing."

He paused for a few seconds, waiting for her to cave and tell him what was on her mind… but she couldn't. Not yet. "Doesn't sound like nothing," He said.

He wasn't going to give up on this. She could tell. "Anakin…" The last thing she wanted to do was push him away when all he wanted was to help. But she had to get him to give this some time before she talked to him about this more. "It's… a family thing."

"Bad?"

"…I… I'm not sure yet." She said. "But once I figure it out, I'll let you know. Okay?"

She heard him take a slow breath before he spoke, "Alright," He didn't sound completely satisfied with her answer, but he at least seemed to respect her wishes.

Padme smiled as she made herself more comfortable in bed, her phone pressed between her ear and the pillow. "Hey… you know I love you, right?"

"Hmmm," She could hear him smile, "I love you too."

* * *

The director was calm but clearly frustrated when Sola answered his call. "Majesty," He started, "I am sorry to disturb you, but our staff has reported several strange sounds in the building that they seem concerned about. While I believe none of this is of any real concern, I do know there have been a few articles about this building and I'd be remiss if I didn't ask but… is there anything we should be worried about?"

Sola was frozen as she listened to him. Was this a sign that things were already going bad with the construction? It couldn't be. Lott Dod couldn't have been foolish enough to make a building that wouldn't even stand for a month. There was still time to fix this without causing panic. "Of course not, Director." Sola answered. "I am sure there is no immediate danger but just to be safe, I promise that we will have someone come and check things out just to be safe."

"I am humbled by your generosity, Majesty," He said.

Sola bid him a good evening before hanging up. The walls of the sitting room she was in were adorned with regal paintings of kings and queens who had ruled before her. Adorned in their regalia, they bore the crests of noble orders, medals of valor, and looked every bit like what a king or queen should look like. Their eyes were like daggers made of ice as they stared down at her, crushing her beneath their weight as they watched her, judged her and challenged her. She felt cold as she looked up at them. These were the people whose example she would be compared to in years to come.

Turning to the aid that waited patiently by the door for her, she took one calming breath before speaking. "I'll be working late tonight. Alert my advisors that tomorrow we will begin the implementation of the project." She ordered. He gave a curt bow of his head before leaving and she made her way to her office, making a note to have coffee sent to her.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"I swear my mom is a witch," Anakin groaned as he spoke with Padme late at night. They had been talking almost every day for the past two weeks. It was nothing compared to actually seeing him, but for the moment this was the best they could do.

"What did you tell her?" She asked.

"Nothing! I show up for dinner with her and her… _boyfriend_ , and she just asks 'who is she?'" Padme shook her head as she twirled a pen in her fingers and glanced back down at the remarks she was going to give at an art exhibition later in the week. She should be working on it… but this was much more interesting.

"Well, you had to have done something to give it away."

"I swear I didn't," He said. "I am very careful."

She rolled her eyes. Where he thought he was a master of keeping secrets, he really wasn't. She'd known from the moment she met him that he wore his heart on his sleeve. "And after that, did you say anything?"

He sighed, "Well… I can't really keep too much from her. She's my _mom_ ," He said. "I didn't tell her who you were though. Just… that you're the most amazing woman I've ever met."

She laughed, "You didn't say that."

"Well, maybe not in those words exactly but… that's basically it."

Padme shook her head, "You're sweet."

"And you're stunning," He said, his voice low and filled with so much certainty that it made her blush.

There was a light knock on her door and she turned to see her mother just as she stepped through the threshold, her hands were folded in front of her as she gave her a small smile, patiently waiting for her to end her call.

"Um, hey, I'll call you back in a bit, okay?" Padme said, whispering a quick "I love you," Before hanging up.

Her mother slowly approached and took a seat on the end of her bed. "How is he?" She asked.

Padme gave a shrug, "He's fine. He visited his mother today."

Her mother nodded slowly, "That's nice." She smiled for a moment before growing dower as she looked at her. Her eyes were focused and scrutinizing as they sought the words for why she was here. "Padme, dear." She started, "I know you've been looking for… permanent options regarding your relationship," She said. "And while as your mother, I only want your happiness, as a queen, I must question if you are moving too fast."

Padme frowned as she glanced away from her and turned back to her desk. In the back corner sat a short stack of books with scraps of paper sticking out from between the pages. The books of law she had borrowed from the family library that were in regards to royal protocol and marriages. There were not many cases that had any similarity to the modern concept of dating. The closest she could find was way back in the 16th century when the younger prince was betrothed to a young noble but broke the engagement once his elder brother became king so that he could marry his favorite mistress. The similarity was… barely there, but it was the closest she could find to her current situation. As the second born, the stakes regarding her relationships and future marriage were so small that they really didn't matter in the grander scheme of the family. If perhaps she could convince even a single member of parliament, then maybe her relationship with Anakin could be public. Whether it would last or not, was another thing all together.

"Padme…" Her mother continued, "I know this boy means a lot to you. I only caution you to take your time with it, and not to become obsessed with making it work when there are bigger things to worry about."

"What do you mean?" She asked, turning back to meet her gaze. It was then that she noticed the slight worrying of her hands, a small tell that something was wrong.

Her mother gave a sad smile, "Your sister thinks she is good at keeping secrets. But secrets in this family seldom stay secrets," She said. "Sola is trying to step up to the role that she must fill. And while I believe she will do well, I don't want to embarrass her or make her feel like she can't do the job. But it is clear to me that she does need help. She needs _your_ help." Padme was silent for a moment as she took in what she was being told. While she was unsure what the problem was exactly, the tone of her mother's voice and the severity laced in her words, told her it was something big. Her mother smiled as if having read her thoughts and rose from her seat on the bed. "Your sister is in her study." She said before leaving without another word.

* * *

Bad news, more bad news, and even more bad news seemed to be a daily occurrence for Sola these days. While the rumors were mostly contained in the tabloid articles and not yet in the major news networks, the fact that there were even stories about it were concerning and they were not going away. Stories about toxic sewage leaking into the children's home, or the lair of some child sex criminal were spread sporadically in the tabloids and while most of them were far from the truth, the attention on the home was not ideal as she worked to repair the situation. Thus far, the repairs were quite minimal compared with what she was hoping for. A blacktop play area was constructed in order to serve as a guise for implementing a way to strengthen the building's foundation with cement. She had also rolled out a clean energy initiative so that she could have some one go in and fix the electrical problems. But all that was only the surface of all the problems that were reported and her solutions were no where near sufficient to trust it will be okay.

Sola bowed her head in her hands as she looked at the documents in front of her. Mixed into the files on the children's home were other files that were a part of her normal day-to-day responsibilities. It was overwhelming. She spent so much time worrying about her project that the only time she really had a chance to look at anything else was right before she crashed from exhaustion. From sunrise to well after sunset, she was working. She barely paid much mind to anything else and could not even remember what or when she last ate. She knew she was eating, her handmaidens made sure of it. She just… couldn't remember any of it with her mind so focused on everything else.

The door to her office clicked open but Sola didn't bother to look up, "I said not to bother me unless it's important," She said.

"It is important," Padme said. As she glanced up at her younger sister, she picked up on the worried look in her eye as she took in the state of the room. She knew the desk was a mess, and she knew that there were open books throughout the room as well as a now cold pot of tea with the remains of lunch on the tray. It wasn't like her to have things like this. While she freely admitted she wasn't a very organized person, she never let things get this bad. Padme brought her eyes to her sister's. "What is going on?" She asked.

Sola gave a small shrug, "Nothing much. Just… daily paperwork," She lied, forcing a smile to her lips. She didn't want to worry her sister. She didn't need Padme getting involved when she had her own responsibilities to focus on.

Padme shook her head, "This… isn't just your normal workload," She said, not falling for her lie for even a second as she walked behind the desk towards her. Sola hunched forward, leaning down over the main file in front of her so that she couldn't see it. But Padme was fast, and saw it. Lunging for it, Sola tried to push it out of her reach, but was not quick enough as her sister grabbed it and pulled it out of her reach.

"Hey! That's classified!" She argued, rising and quickly following her sister around the room as Padme glanced over it. "Give it back!"

Her younger sister abruptly stopped and Sola ran into her back just as her sister turned to look at her, her brown eyes wide in shock. Sola took the chance and grabbed the file back. "The children's home is condemned?"

"No!"

"Well why isn't it?"

"I'm working on it!" Sola argued, taking a seat behind the desk once more as she slammed the file back on top of the pile of paper and books that littered her desk.

Padme took the seat opposite her and leaned forward. "There are _children_ inside," she said. " _Children_. How can you let them stay there—"

"I'm doing everything I can," Sola said. "Do you think I want them in danger? I don't. But I also want them to be able to trust me. How can they trust me if I can't give them a place that is safe?" She took a breath as she leaned back in her chair and rested her head in her hand. "I am _making_ it safe. To the best of my ability." Padme shook her head. Sola knew her sister didn't agree with her. She knew that she would rather they move everyone out and take the blows that come. But all that was easy to say for the person without a spotted history with the news.

"If it isn't safe, you have to get them out of there. If you wait any longer—"

"I am aware of the danger," Sola said. "I am also aware of how long we potentially have before things fall apart." She took a slow breath and shook her head. "I am working as hard as I can to fix this before that happens. But if time runs out, then I will take the hit." Her sister didn't seem to agree, but she decided against arguing as she had already made her position clear.

Padme looked across the papers on the desk and picked up a small pile of them. She sifted through them, her eyes scanning them quickly before setting them back down on the desk and looking up to meet hers. "What do you need me to do?" She asked.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The palace had a total of 670 rooms. Of those rooms, there were roughly 98 offices, of which there were 27 that were available for use by the royal family for whatever they wanted. Padme made the arrangements and Sola had absolutely no complaints as the office was arranged so that both sisters could work in the same office. Day by day, Sola felt more relaxed as she was able to push some of her duties onto her younger sister so as to allow herself to focus more on the repairs. The office was set up with both desks pressed directly across from one another, allowing Padme a clear view of her sister as she worked. As her mind would start to spin through option after option to solve one particular problem, the unobscured view allowed Padme to see immediately when her older sister was becoming overwhelmed. In response, she would prompt Sola to talk her through it, and working together, she would help by providing an un-muddled perspective and alternate solutions where she could.

Padme was an absolute blessing for Sola. Her willingness to help, and her unwavering support was exactly what she needed to get through this. As the days went by, more and more it felt as though this crisis would be at an end soon. So grateful was Sola, that she wanted to repay her sister's kindness. And so, on the day that more repairs to the roof of the home were underway, she spent part of her lunch glancing through the old law books in search of a way to repeal the Marriage Laws. She already knew that her sister was looking for options as well, but her position as a princess, meant that there wasn't much that she could do. But Sola was the Queen. While Parliament may have the final say in matters, she could make a motion to exempt her sister from the law as she was not going to hold any sort of political office. Sola smiled as she pulled out a piece of stationary with her seal and letterhead and began writing her official motion request to the Prime Minister.

The clock on the fireplace mantel let out a soft series of chimes as the hour struck. Sola didn't look up from her work while Padme glanced at her phone sitting on her desk. Barely a second had passed since the chiming stopped, then the soft tone of a text message came through to Padme's phone. Sola glanced up and watched as her sister's face lit up as she read the text and began a quick reply."Plans tonight?" Sola asked. She already knew about her sister's nightly calls with her boyfriend. Every day at around 5:00, she would get a text from him. And every day after 9:00, either she would call him, or he would call her. There were of course a few days where none of that happens, mostly the nights when Padme has official engagements that she has to attend. But for the most part, this routine happened every day.

Padme gave a small nod and put her phone away as she began organizing the papers on her desk. "We're… having dinner." She said with a giddy smile. "It took forever to convince Panaka to allow him onto our private communication server so that we could video chat. I was so close to thinking that it wasn't going to happen, that I was tempted to just make a normal Skype account," She laughed.

"I'd bet that's what made Panaka concede," Sola said as she finished up her note and blew air over the ink to make sure it dried before folding the paper in thirds and placing it in a regal red envelope embossed with her coat of arms.

"Probably," Padme agreed as she stood and stretched. "He sent me what he was going to make yesterday so we'd be having the same thing. He wanted it to be like a date."

Sola cocked an eyebrow as she glanced at her sister, "So, you're going to cook it?"

She shook her head, "No, but I passed it along to the chefs so it should come out pretty close to what he's making." She took a look at the clock and smiled before turning back to the desk and taking one of the neat piles of paperwork and carrying it over to the side table on Sola's side. "I finished all the logistical work and made notes on the motions currently in Parliament," She started, splitting the pile into two. "This last pile just requires your signature and then it can be sent back to the Prime Minister."

Sola nodded and pushed her letter to the side as she lifted the corner of the pile up and flipped through the pages. Her sister was as efficient as ever, marking the pages that needed her signature with bright red post-it notes and clipped to the front of each document was her assessment of the pieces with a list of recommendations for her to consider before signing.

Her sister had already moved back to her side of the desk and grabbed her sweater and slipped her heels back on. "I should go now. I still have to get ready for… my date." She said, the words coming out with a bit of excitement.

Sola give a mocking whistle as she waved her sister off before looking back down at the letter she had written and carefully sealed it with a wax seal before placing it in the box that would make its way to the Prime Minister first thing in the morning.

* * *

By the time she reached her room, Padme came to find that her room was an absolute mess. Her handmaidens were gathered around in a circle, each one holding an array of clothes from her wardrobe, as they talked amongst themselves. Padme stood in the doorway watching her closest friends as they debated on what she was going to wear on her date. Sabe had picked out a light blue outfit with long flowing sleeves and a v-neck collar. The top ended a few inches below her bust and had a floor-length skirt with embroidery along the waistline. Eirtae had picked out a yellow floral dress with embroidered roses. A corset lay over the pain dress with the same embroidery but featured a yellow lace fabric that lay over it and flowed down the length of her arms. Dorme had picked out the most risqué dress of the bunch with a tight black dress and leather corset and gloves.

Padme shook her head as she watched them and made her way towards the wardrobe. She had already picked out what she was going to wear earlier in the day. If she had known they would make this much of a fuss, she might not have asked them to help in the first place… not that it would have stopped them. Her handmaidens were nothing if not persistent. There were only a few of her clothes left undisturbed, one of which just happened to be the outfit she wanted. The three-piece outfit was much less elaborate than the dresses that her handmaidens were arguing over. She didn't need to wear one of her more fancy outfits. She wanted to look nice, attractive even; but… in a more casual sense and the clothes she had selected were probably one of the best options to achieve that. The three-quarter sleeved deep blue turtle neck had a light purple pattern on it that was barely noticeable and had a second layer in a lighter blue color over top that served as the closure of the top and featured a silver ring closer that clasped the two sides of it together. The top itself was short enough to expose her abdomen and cut up towards the closer at the center of her chest. The bottom half was a pair of simple blue pants with a heavily decorated belt.

A single glance back at the arguing women, left Padme shaking her head as she retreated into her ensuite bathroom to change. She took her time taking down her long brown hair from the loose bun she had worn all day to keep her hair out of her face while she worked and took care to remove the light coating of makeup off her face before stripping out of her simple blouse and skirt. Her fingers traced over the soft light fabric of the turtle neck she was going to put on and smiled as she let her thoughts drift ahead to dinner. She wished he was really here. She wanted so badly for him to visit her or for her to visit him… maybe she could sneak one of the Royal planes to Coruscant next month.

"Hey!"

Padme jumped as the sound of five fists banging on the bathroom door shook her from her thoughts. With a sigh, she began to dress as the muffled voice of Dorme came through the door.

"You alright in there?" Dorme asked as she banged on the door again. "When you're done, we need you to make a final choice on which dress you're wearing. Now, we all know you want to impress the boy, we just need to know how much of a 'come hither' look you want. No, I have the perfect outfit that is ideal for both a romantic dinner, and has a special surprise for dessert."

She heard a squeak from Dorme as was apparently shoved aside by Eirtae who took over speaking. "We also want to do a quick camera check in the dining room before we do your makeup. I arranged the room and lighting fixtures so that they should have a nice balance of light and shadow to emphasize the romance, Yane just needs to see how you look in it so that we can get the right color palettes for the camera."

"I've also made a list a possible excuses to cut things short if you need them," Sabe spoke up.

Padme shook her head as she made the final adjustments the the clasp on her top before she brushed out any lingering knots from her hair. The amount of effort they put into everything they did for her still found ways to surprise her even after all these years. With a shake of her head, she opened the door and came face to face with her four closest friends. Dorme let out a small groan as she waved at her outfit. "Oh, P! I thought you'd want something sexy for your date!" She lamented.

Sabe rolled her eyes, "Your idea of sexy would have her in nothing at all."

Eirtae sighed and shook her head at the others before looking at Padme, "You look great," She said before waving her over to the vanity so that they could do her hair.

After a brief disagreement over doing her hair up, or down, she managed to get her input heard and the women quickly went to work. Sabe and Rabe carefully got to work curling her hair and arranging most of it so that it hung down her back with a few separate locks that fell over her shoulders. Eirtae worked on her makeup, keeping it natural like she preferred, but emphasizing a small wing in her eyeliner and a few smaller details in the rest of her makeup. Dorme assisted with her accessories seeing to picking out a simple silver bracelet and a matching necklace, the latter of which she declined in favor of the small wooden charm that Anakin had carved for her. Padme smiled as she ran the tips of her fingers over the deep etched symbols in the charm. She didn't wear it as often as she would like. Most of her public appearances had hand-picked outfits and accessories and while she did have the option to add or omit the pieces she liked, but knowing the press' obsession with who was wearing what, the last thing she wanted was people trying to copy this very special and personal piece.

Once she was ready, the girls stepped back, allowing Padme to stand and look at herself in the mirror to make the final assessment. She smiled at her reflection as she turned her head from left to right and adjusted one of her curls. Despite how she and her handmaidens might disagree from time to time, never once have they not done as she asked and they have always taken great care to give her the image that she wanted to project to perfection. She gave a final nod of approval before checking the time once again.

"He should call in about fifteen minutes, and then dinner should be up about five minutes after that," Eirtae said as she looked through her timetable on her phone.

Padme nodded in acknowledgement before grabbing her phone and grinning widely as she saw he had texted her the spaghetti and heart emojis. Fifteen minutes. It really wasn't that much longer she'd have to wait.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

One of the smaller dining rooms had been set up just for her date. The light green paneled walls had gold filigree outlining each panel which was patterned with leaf designs. The table was situated in front of a mid-sized fireplace that had a Renaissance era painting over the mantel. Padme sat to the right of the fireplace, the computer situated just in front of her on a stand while a serving bowl of the pasta dish they had decided to make sat before her. As was typical of food from a royal kitchen, the dish was made with what was probably the freshest ingredients possible. Ripe cherry tomatoes were sliced in quarters and spread through out the dish with a leafy green garnish. Small balls of mozzarella were laid out on top of the noodles and coated in oil.

She glanced at her phone for what felt like the hundredth time in the past two minutes. No new messages. It had been ten minutes since the stewards had brought her dinner and yet she still hadn't gotten the call from Anakin yet. It wasn't a big deal. It shouldn't be. She'd heard from him earlier so he obviously knew to call… but… why hadn't he?

The chiming ring of her computer shook her from her thoughts and she surprised herself with out fast she reached out to answer it. The buffer ring took a minute before his face filled the screen. He was hunched over the screen, the top two buttons of his shirt undone with a navy tie hanging loose around his neck. His bright smile brought one of her own as he raised his hand in greeting, "Hey," He said, shifting back to sit in his chair before he tugged at the collar of his shirt and adjusted his tie. He blushed as he scratched the back of his neck, "Um… I hope you weren't waiting too long?" He said, giving his collar another tug.

Padme shook her head, "Not too long," she answered. Might have made her worry a bit. But, he was here now. Virtually. But it still counted.

He cleared his throat and lowered his head a bit. "Yeah… sorry. I got back from work, but then realized I hadn't ironed my shirt, and I don't normally iron my shirts." He laughed and shook his head, "So… I had to borrow my neighbor's iron, then call my mom to make sure I didn't ruin the shirt."

As he spoke, she felt herself relax as whatever reason she was worried before seemed to disappear. "You ironed a shirt just to call me? I take it I must be pretty important." She joked.

"Hey! Like you can talk. With all those servants around, have you ever had to iron your own shirt?" He asked. She hadn't, and he smirked all proud and smug as he continued. "Well, I can tell you this, it is much harder than you think."

"Oh, really?"

"Absolutely! You gotta use the right heat for the right material, and if you have it folded wrong, you can have creases where you don't want them. It is very tricky."

Padme hummed in response before forcing her eyes away from his beautiful face to see how his dinner turned out. From the angle of the screen, she could see that he had set his table with the silver pan in the middle of the table with the wine off to the side and a set of miss-matched plates before him. In the pan she could see the same basic elements but lacking the flair that her chefs used. Instead of cherry tomatoes, there were full sized tomatoes that had been diced up and spread through the pan. There was also shredded mozzarella instead of the balls that were in hers. Both dishes did have similar green leafy garnishes though.

"Wow…" Anakin remarked, "Yours looks better than mine." He chuckled as he began to scoop a serving out onto his plate. She followed suit and served herself as well. "Though, I shouldn't be surprised. I never went to some fancy cooking school."

"I did tell them to follow your recipe exactly," She said. "Though I suppose they can't help but to do whatever they can to make it beautiful." Anakin gave a small shrug, not having a lot of experience with professional chefs. "You never did tell me what it is though." She said as she poured herself a glass of wine.

"Arugula pesto pasta," He said as he began to serve the long pasta out of the pan and onto his plate. Padme followed suit, though using a the large serving fork and spoon that were set before her instead of the improvised way Anakin was pouring the pasta onto his plate. They both then poured themselves a glass of wine.

"Are we toasting to anything?" She asked as she held her glass up to the screen.

He smiled and did the same. "To our first sorta real date," He said.

Padme cocked her eyebrow, "Sorta real?" She questioned with a laugh. "What do you mean by that?"

He gave a shrug, and began to twirl the wine in his glass even though that isn't something that is typically done with white wine. "Well, I just figured next time I get the chance to see you, we could go on a real date. You know? Like dinner and a movie? Or mini golf?"

"Mini golf?" She giggled. That would certainly be different. Not exactly the kind of activity she was used to people suggesting, but she had no complaints.

"Yeah, but we can always do something else. Haven't exactly got a solid plan yet."

She smiled at him through the screen and then held her glass up, "Well, how about to the date we're _going_ to have one day."

Anakin smiled and held his glass up in agreement as they toasted and took a drink before they settled down to enjoy their dinner. They talked almost non-stop as they ate, with the topics ranging from work, childhood memories, to even silly facts that he picked up from a soda bottle one time. She liked how despite talking to him almost every day, they never seem to run out of things to talk about and none of it is dull or feels like a conversation filler. And in the times where there were gaps of silence, it was always just so comfortable.

When they finished eating, they both moved to their respective bedrooms and laid down both of them facing the screens of their computers as they just relaxed together while being physically apart. Padme ran her fingers over the screen, tracing the shadows along his face. He had pulled his tie off the moment he entered his room and undone the first two buttons of his shirt, giving her a glimpse of the tightly wrapped muscles of his chest. Her lips curled into a smile as he leaned up to rest his head in his hand as he stared at her. "What are you thinking right now?" He asked.

"How much I miss you," She said with a sigh.

He smiled and brought his hand to touch the screen as well. "I miss you too," He replied. "But it shouldn't be too much longer," He said. "I should be able to travel in the next month or so."

"I wish it could be sooner."

"Hmm. So do I," He agreed. "But, until then, at least we can finally video chat. I've missed seeing you," He said with a smile.

She returned his smile as she closed her eyes and imagined he was really here with her. She missed the warmth of his embrace, the steady and strong beat of his heart… the heady smell of him. Video chat was nothing compared to having him close to her, but it was better than nothing. "I love you," She whispered as she looked deeply into the pixels of his eyes.

"I love you too," He said, leaning close and pressing a kiss to the screen while she kissed her palm then pressed to to where his lips were on the screen. She didn't want to say goodnight. But she knew from the light blinking of the clock in the corner of the screen, that they probably should. They'd been taking for the past six hours. And while he might not have work in the morning, she had things to do in the morning. And from the regretful look on his face, he knew it too. "I should probably let you get some sleep," He said reluctantly.

"Yeah…" She agreed with the same amount of regret.

He let out a sigh as he fiddled with the sleeves of his shirt, "I'll call you tomorrow then?"

She smiled. He hated saying goodbye as much as she did. And so to avoid having to say it, he made a promise to talk to her tomorrow. Oh, how she loved him. "I'll talk to you then."

"Goodnight." He said.

"Night." She returned, reluctantly pressing the 'End Call' button and watching as his image faded until the wallpaper of her computer appeared. With a sigh, she closed the computer and rolled out of bed to change into something more comfortable to sleep in.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Laughter and the joyful shouts of children filled her ears as Sola put on a smile and walked through the gate that led to the children's home. Several of the young children surrounded her, presenting her with bunches of wild flowers and little crafts they had made for her. Sola accepted each one herself and graciously complemented, and engaged with as many of them as she could as she approached the director. He gave a short bow and a small apology for the excitable children. Sola waved off the apology and expressed how it filled her heart with joy to see them happy.

The director smiled and gestured for her to join him for a walk through the halls. "I am glad you were able to make time for us," He said as they walked, "Though I admit I was surprised when your staff informed me that you were coming."

"No doubt," Sola said. "But when I heard your list of concerns, I felt it necessary to see how bad it is."

The director nodded and led her to the third floor. Half the rooms had been emptied, and blocked off with tape to prevent anyone from walking into the damaged space. The entire floor had a musty smell to it that grew stronger as they walked into one of the rooms near the far end of the building. All that was in the room was a wood bed frame and a desk that was soaked with water. Overhead there was a decent sized hole that exposed a pipe held together by a plastic link that was fracturing. All along the seam of the pipe was moist with condensation that dripped every so often onto the floor. The director pointed up at it before speaking. "We assume that pipe has been leaking for some time," He said. The other day, the ceiling caved in when too much water began to leak from the pipe. Naturally, we moved almost everyone off this floor to a different one."

Sola looked at the damage and frowned. "Have you had any one come and look at it?" She asked.

The director shook his head. "Not yet. The plumber wasn't able to come any sooner than next week."

She pursed her lips and hummed in thought. "I will personally see to having someone come over as soon as tomorrow to fix this," She said. "Is this the only room this has happened in?"

He gave her a short bow, "Yes, but as I said before, there are other concerns." With is arm outstretched, he gestured for her to walk into the room across the hall. This one was just as sparsely furnished as the other but with the items pulled away from the walls which were showing signs of discoloration. The director pointed at a large section of wall that was looking a little gray compared to the rest of the white wall. "We noticed the discoloration after one of the rain storms last week," He said. "We think it might be mold, which as I'm sure you're aware, is a serious health risk."

Sola nodded in understanding as she looked around the room. Her mind raced with questions of what she should do. The problems were mounting, and more and more it was looking like tearing the place down and starting over was the best thing to do. But that was a choice she didn't want to make. Not until she had more information to go on. "I assure you I am just as concerned about these problems as you are," She said. "No one is staying on this floor, am I correct?"

The director nodded, "Yes. We've moved everyone off this floor and have them doubling up with friends in other rooms."

She smiled. While the conditions of the rooms made it safe to say no one was living in them, it made her feel better hearing it from the man in charge. "Good. While I'm not entirely sure where these particular problems stem from, I assure you I will do everything in my power to ensure this place is properly fixed."

The director bowed his head, "Thank you, Your Majesty," He said. "And in the mean time?"

Sola tilted her head. "Mean time?"

He cleared his throat, "I… I assumed you'd be putting us somewhere else while the repairs were being made. Am I wrong?"

She gave him a small smile, "That won't be necessary. I promise you the repairs will not interfere with the functioning of this place."

The director didn't seem to like her answer, but he didn't voice it as he bowed once more, thanking her for her efforts. Without another word of the concerns, the two of them left the area to return to the ground floor common room where to children were gathered around, excited to have their very own audience with their queen. They were all so energized that it took a bit of time before everyone had settled down enough to allow each one to speak one at a time and Sola sat patiently to listen to each one as they asked questions, or complimented her or just gave a shy hello. The entire experience brought a smile to her face as she watched their eyes light up at her full of curiosity and wonder.

Sola could have easily spent her whole day with these children. In many ways they were easier to deal with than politicians, or officials who all want something from her, or are waiting for her to mess up. Children are so simple in what they want from her. A hug, and answer to a simple question, an invite to the palace… all of which are pretty easy to accommodate or are so sweet that it just melts your heart. But, as with all things, her time was coveted by so many other things that she had to resist groaning when her security officer gave her a light tap on the shoulder to warn her to begin wrapping things up. The children groaned in disappointment, and Sola gave each one a hug before taking her leave, some of them even holding her hands as she walked to the gate where her car was waiting for her. Across the street she could hear reporters shouting questions at her as cameras clicked rapidly taking as many pictures as possible of her. Sola held her hand up in a wave as she smiled at them before climbing in the car and letting the driver take her back to the palace.

* * *

While she had been away, Padme had seen to reviewing the other problems in the children's home that they were aware of. Her notes were significantly better than Sola's organized in a way that surpassed anything she could have done. Over the past few weeks, the list had gotten shorter and yet this latest development was yet another set back from making the place habitable. It was frustrating. But Sola was ever so grateful to have Padme's help and support through this. Sola entered the study barefooted and with her coat slung over her arm as she threw it down over the back of her chair. She was tired yet she couldn't deny that the visit with those children was a refreshing change of pace.

"We got problems with mold and plumbing now," She announced as she stretched her arms over her head. "Who was that guy you suggested we get to—"

Her voice catches in her throat as she looks to where Padme normally sits to find it empty. And as her eyes slowly raise, she finds that her sister is sitting on one of the settees across from Darred Janren. The two of them huddled over a blueprint and Padme held a notebook on her lap as she took notes. Surprised at his being there, Sola straightened herself up and crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

Darred rose from his seat and bowed his head. "Princess Padme invited me to go over some details regarding the children's home," He answered.

Padme stood and approached her sister and handed her the notebook as well as the original report they had been using as a guide for the repairs. "I was going over repair and maintenance costs and found that we are close to exceeding what was spent to build it." Padme explained. "I called Mr. Janren for his professional advice on how to prioritize things going forward."

"And you though he was the best person to ask?" Sola asked her sister with a cocked brow. Padme gave a shrug, "You already mentioned that he was aware of the problems. I figured it is best not to expand the circle of people who know about it," She said. "Besides, I'm… starting to have my doubts about all this." She said the last part barely above a whisper.

Doubts. Most likely put in place by this guy whose been questioning her actions since the very beginning. "Sola," Padme started. "Please, just listen to what he has to say. What he's suggesting makes a lot of sense to me." She gave her arm a firm supportive squeeze before Padme excused herself to leave her to talk with the architect.

Darred watched her carefully from where she stood from him across the room. Her eyes were narrowed suspiciously at him, not wanting to hear him out. She turned her head to look out one of the tall windows in the office and watched as a flock of birds flew past. She wished she could just fly away from all of this, go some place warm and let the fresh air cleanse her of all her worries. With a deep breath, she turned back to Darred and approached the spot her sister had been sitting. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest as she took her seat and glanced at the papers that were laid out on the table. "What is it that I need to know?"

He gave her a polite smile and pulled out a pile of papers from under the blueprint. "As I said earlier, the construction of the building is considered below standard by my company's policy." He said. "N.G. Industries often partners with the same distributors for materials. That in itself is common practice, however, for them, they want to keep costs even lower. So they intentionally buy materials that are below the standard of have defects yet are still good enough to pass initial building inspections." Darred pulled out a file that looked like a copy of a receipt. "I also buy materials from the same source. And I found this. It's their purchase order." He pointed to a series of numbers that followed the purchased item name. "This is the batch number. It tells us the quality of the material, where it came from, as well as who else has purchased from the same batch." He flipped the page to the next one in his pile. This one was a formal document from a manufacturer. "This is the recall for the batch of foundation supports that N.G. Industries bought."

"You made your point that they cut corners last time," She said, "What's so different now?"

He reached for a folded newspaper that was next to him and placed it in front of her already opened to a story from an isolated region to the south of Theed. "The same supports were being used to make a house. It collapsed when they were adding the first floor." He said.

Sola picked up the paper and read through the story quickly. Two construction workers had died in the accident while another was badly injured.

"The children's home is three stories and made with the same supports from the same batch." Darred said.

This was bad. It was bad before, but now seeing that the same poor material has already killed people… what was she to do? Move them out and take what comes with it? Is there any way to salvage it? If they knew how bad the place was, would they even trust her after this? Questions swarmed her mind as she tried to come up with a plan but with no definitive answer to the problem. "So what is your suggestion then?"

He frowned and turned back to the blueprint. "These were the original plans I proposed to you when you were hiring for the project. I made some changes to the design to lower the cost, cut out some of the more expensive material like granite counters, and the mosaic on the fireplace…" His eyes caught hers as he paused for a moment. "I think you need to tear it down and start over."

"No," She said without a moments thought as she stood and walked back over to her desk.

Darred followed her and stood in front of her desk with a spreadsheet in his hands. "The cost to make the current structure work exceeds what already went into it. It's getting to the point where it'll cost more than what I said I'd need to build it."

She shook her head. "I can't…" She sat in her chair and placed her head in her hands.

"You must," He implored, placing his hand on her arm and squeezing as if he was trying will her to agree with him.

Slowly, she lifted her head up and looked him in the eye. His brown eyes shown with the same worried look she had seen so many times in her own eyes. She felt her fear well up inside her. The fear of failure, fear that she was going to mess all this up.

"I know you're afraid of making the wrong choice," He started, "But I promise you, Sola, This is the right thing to do." Slowly, he took her hand in his own and ran his thumb along the back of her knuckles. She felt a shock and jumped back as she looked at their hands. Her palms felt sweaty and she felt her fingers twitch, wanting to wrap around his hand in return, but she quickly pulled away from him. Standing up, she put distance between them as she held her hand in her other hand. "You've given me much to think about," She said. "I think you should leave."

He didn't say another word. He smiled and bowed before walking out on his own.

* * *

"I can't tell you what a relief I felt when you called," Anakin said as he smiled at her closing the door to his apartment behind him. "Ahsoka invited me to her MMA watch party."

"And you didn't want to go?" Padme asked as she placed her phone on a stand on her desk so she look at him without having to hold her phone.

"Hell no!" He said as he shrugged off his coat and practically ripped his tie off.

Oh, wow… that was… kinda hot. She bit her lip as she listened to him continue.

"I am not in the mood to be her punching bag when she tries to copy their fight."

Padme shook her head. She could tell that this Ahsoka girl is very close to Anakin. He talks about her as if she's his little sister, which mostly consists of complaints about how annoying she is, albeit in a very endearing way. "It wouldn't have been that bad," She tried to argue.

His face went flat as he looked her dead in the eye, "You don't know Ahsoka like I do. She can be like an attack dog… but pocket sized."

She laughed and shook her head. "Well, maybe you'd like a break and come see me?" She suggested. It had been a month since their first sorta real date and he did say he should have time.

But his frown said otherwise. "I want to," He whined, "Really, I do…" He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "But Ben is having me brush up on my French for an appointment with a French Ambassador coming up in the next two weeks."

"You speak French?" She asked.

Anakin shook his head, "Noooo. I mean, I know a few words. But, I sound like I'm choking on my tongue when I speak so I try not to."

Padme laughed, "Well, I could always teach you," She said. "Je le parle assez couramment."

His eyes dilated as he let out a soft groan. "I have no idea what you said, but it sounded hot."

She laughed again and shook her head, "Not even close."

He sighed as his lips cocked into a sad smile, "I wish I could come see you."

"Me too."

"But, once this whole thing with the French Ambassador is done, I'll be able to take two whole weeks off and I'll be yours the whole time."

"I'll like that," She said.

"So will I."

Padme smirked as she switched back to French. "Je vais te baiser jusqu'à ce que tu vois des étoiles." His eyes went wide as his jaw dropped. "That was what hot sounds like."

He laughed and wet his lips. "Fuck me."

"I plan to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't speak a word of French so I'd like to thank tvshowswillruinmylife from Tumblr for making sure my translations were right!


End file.
